1. It is essential to the story
·
Advance the plot
·
Reveal character
·
Reflect theme
2. It comes from one character to another character
·
Not a blatant
attempt to give information
3. It has conflict and tension
4. It sounds just right for the character
·
Vocabulary
·
Favorite words
and expressions (can change with time)
·
Regionalisms
·
Dialect and
syntax
a. Don’t recreate the sound of a thick accent. Just use
a word or two.
b. Syntax (order of words) is a good way to indicate
non-native English speakers
5. It isn’t real-life speech
·
Fictional
dialogue looks like real speech, but
it is purposeful. No hesitators, tangents, or small talk
ATTRIBUTIONS
·
An attribution
tells the reader who is speaking
·
Almost always,
the simple said and asked should be your default setting
·
It is almost
invisible to the reader, and allows the focus to remain on the dialogue
·
In a two-person
dialogue, you can skip attributions when it’s clear who is speaking. Put in an
occasional attribution or action tag as a reminder.
ACTION TAGS
·
The action tag
offers a character’s physical movements instead of said.
·
Example 1: “What
shall we do for the next two hours?” Smith said nervously
·
Example 2: Smith
scratched at his eyebrow. “What shall we do for the next two hours?”
