Dialogue Dos & Don’ts for Page, Stage & Screen

1. Do Write Like People Talk

People don’t speak with uniform and academic grammar, nor do they deliver monologues of exposition to handily help your plot along. They chit chat haphazardly, cutting across each other, often interrupting each other’s flow, often with a different focus or aim to their side of the conversion. Write dialogue as if you were gossiping with a friend over coffee, or swapping secrets with a mate over a glass of wine. Stay away from the stuffy, skip the formalities, and ditch the descriptive passages. If it sounds like a Government Public Service Information Broadcast from the 1940s, you’re doing it wrong.

2. Don’t Let Your Characters Sound Identical 

Each character should have a unique voice. Listen to real conversations and observe how each person speaks and sounds different, depending on who is speaking and who they are speaking too. Differences in education, street smarts, class, slang, regional and national localities, hierarchy and status can all inform how people sound. Be cautious of drifting into stale stereotypes, and always route your characters’ speech in real world examples (hello YouTube videos, documentaries, social media and good old-fashioned eavesdropping). But remember no two people sound the same, and neither should your characters.

3. Do Mix It Up

Adapt your character’s language to suit different situations and audiences. For example, the way you describe a hot date to a close friend differs from how you'd explain it to a faith leader or a boss. Use these variations to reveal character traits and relationships. Milk interactions to show us conflict and tensions that befall your characters, rather than telling us about them.

4. Do Add Quirks
Give your characters distinct speech patterns or catchphrases. This helps in distinguishing them and adds depth to their personalities. A character who calls everyone ‘Button’, or one who stutters when nervous adds unique flavour to your dialogue, and makes then instantly recognisable on the page or screen. 

5. Do Read It Out Loud

To ensure your dialogue sounds authentic, read it aloud. Better yet, have others read it, acting out the different characters. This helps identify awkward phrasing or imbalances in conversation. You can literally hear if it’s not working. Would a real person respond in the way your secondary character does to your protagonist? Would you? Or are you simply relaying plot on the page in those icky exposition blocks? Aim for brevity - most real-life exchanges are swift and to the point. And, again, keep an eye out for all your characters saying the same things, in the same way, like little cardboard cutout duplicates of each other. 

6. Don’t Over-Egg Your Dialogue 

Time to get the scissors out and cut! Be concise. Eliminate unnecessary words, and keep dialogue tight and engaging. Less is more: often improving readability, and maintaining a story’s pace. Just like in real life, no one wants to get stuck on the receiving end of a dull conversation. Propel your readers and audience on. 

7. Don't Forget the Silences
What characters don’t say can be as important and compelling as what they do say. Good old subtext. Use pauses and silences to add tension and reveal unspoken thoughts. Deploy your silences well, and you can show internal conflict, and/or build suspense.

8. Do Trust Yourself

Delicious dialogue can elevate a piece, bringing characters, your world and story to life. And it’s not as tricksy as we can sometimes scare ourselves into thinking. You’ve got this: do keep writing. 

Angela Clarke is a screenwriter and best-selling crime thriller novelist. Angela’s currently working on new developments with Wild Mercury, SunnyMarch, FilmWave, Lookout Point, West Road Pictures, and Double Dutch Banijay. She was part of the writing team for Happy Prince’s psychological thriller Wildfire, and Indefinite Film (Channel 4’s) dramatized response to the Euro 2020 final Siege under Tony Grisoni. Angela contributed an episode to Lookout Point’s new adaptation of the Agatha Christie Tommy and Tuppence books. Her credits include; JoJo & Gran Gran S2 (CBBC) Writer. Malory Towers Podcast (King Bert / BBC Sounds) Writer. Weed, The Break S5 (BBC Studios / BBC 3) Writer. She is the author of the crime thrillers On My Life (Hachette, 2019), Trust Me (HarperCollins, 2017), Watch Me (HarperCollins, 2016), and Follow Me (HarperCollins, 2015). She also wrote the humorous memoir Confessions of a Fashionista (Penguin Random House, 2013). A sufferer of the rare genetic condition Ehlers Danlos Syndrome III, Angela is passionate about bringing disabled talent and stories into the industry. She also really wishes there were more mirrors in accessible toilets, so she could check her hair before meetings