Dialogue can be a rough time. You spend so much time writing, constructing scenes, and then you read it back and it sounds disjointed and unnatural. It’s clunky. Maybe it says everything you wanted it to say, but it’s still just…off.
This isn’t unusual. I’ve heard a lot of writers complain about how hard it is to nail down dialogue. I used to be one of these people, but then…I figured it out. Now I can write dialogue that comes across naturally, moves the scene along, and develops character while maintaining balance with the action in the scene as well as the appropriate pace for the scene. I’m going to tell you the one thing you need to keep in mind if you want to write phenomenal dialogue, but first let me tell you about a writer who got instant results when he applied it.
This writer had a scene with a side character that he just could not get right. “It just sounds unnatural,” he said.
I asked him whether he had considered that ONE THING that I don’t see writing blogs talking about. That ONE THING that he really needed to know about before he could really find the essence of the scene and turn out something amazing. After I told him about it, something clicked. He took the advice, and he fixed the scene IMMEDIATELY. Within minutes, he came back and thanked me for it.
It’s so frustrating to see all kinds of advice out there about improving dialogue, but for some reason, it feels like NONE of them are talking about this one very important part you need to understand in order to write dialogue that flows, sounds natural, and fulfills the basic functions of dialogue: it moves the story along and absolutely always reveals character.
Nailing dialogue is so important, and it really is a complex beast. There are a lot of ins and outs that have to be right in order to make it excellent, tips that can improve your dialogue right away, but here is the ONE THING you cannot write truly astounding dialogue without: you absolutely have to write with your characters’ desires and needs in mind. This is important for crafting a story in general, but it is imperative that you are reflecting your characters’ desires in the actions they take and the things they say.
On a new website I’ve created called OkayWriter.com, I teach creative writing. I go into more detail about understanding your characters and how to apply that knowledge to your dialogue scene, as well as a multitude of other dialogue tips that are going to improve your dialogue RIGHT AWAY, in a mini-course I’ve created called Dialogue Disaster Relief. It goes through the most fundamental components of dialogue and explains how to make changes to your writing that are going to provide instant results. The mini-course can be completed in one day, but once it opens up, you’ll have access to it for 90 days.
My Shailo fans are extra important and special to me. I appreciate your support more than I can even say. Dialogue Disaster Relief is $19, but for being a Shailo Satór subscriber, you are getting 40% off! YOU deserve the best, and I hope to give it to you. You MUST claim your discount in order to receive the coupon code and save money. The coupon code expires June 21, 2019, and then the 40% off discount is going away for a long time. Claim your code and get the course NOW before this deal disappears!
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