Do your characters sound realistic?
The dialogue in my work-in-progress sounded a little stilted to me. So I was excited to find a helpful post.
No one wants their characters to sound like robots.
We all want the characters in our story to jump out at the reader. To engage them and give them fun “ah-ha” moments. Maybe connect a character to a friend or family member. Nothing would make me happier than to hear, “That character reminded me of my best friend. Did you spy on us?”
After reading Gina Conkle’s post, I learned…
- Tags are not stop signs.
- Use them judiciously.
- Don’t overuse non-verbal cues.
- Be creative.
- Men speak differently than women.
- This is something we know but forget to incorporate into a manuscript.
- Viva la difference.
- Not all character voices are created equal.
- Men command, women, have conversations.
- Dyads
- Even in a group setting, the conversation is between two dominant characters.
- Unless I’m with my sisters. The five of us talk over each other, and that would present a nightmare to write on paper. LOL
- Don’t confuse the reader about who is talking to whom.
Gina goes into a lot more detail. Be sure and click on her link and read the entire post. Believe me, her tips are very helpful.
I’m I the only writer who has problems with dialogue?
Do you have a tip or two that you use to make dialogue realistic?
How to Create Page-Turning Dialogue by Gina Conkle
Jean's Writing 