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How to Write Successful Dialogue

@albino-troll-ninja asked:

Got any feedback/advice/links for someone who wants to make lengthy, relatively action-less dialogues between characters more than just “‘Loren ipsum,’ he said.” “'Ipsum lorem’, she replied.” for forty paragraphs?

No problem!  I love dialogue, so I’m happy to be of assistance in this department.  

Here are my personal rules of thumb:

1.  Allow the dialogue to show the character’s personality.

If you really think about your conversations, it can be telling exactly how much of someone’s personality can shine through when they speak.  

Allow your character’s persona, values, and disposition to spill over when they speak, and it will make for a significantly more interesting read for you and your reader. 

For example:  let’s take a look at a mundane exchange, and see how it can be spruced up by injecting it with a good dose of personality.

Exhibit A)

“How was your day, by the way?”  asked Oscar, pouring himself a drink.

“Not too bad,” replied Byron.  “Cloudy, but warm.  Not too many people.”

“That’s nice.”   

Exhibit B) 

“How was your day, by the way?” asked Oscar, pouring himself a drink. 

“Ugh.  Not too bad,” groaned Byron, draping himself on the couch.  “Warm, but dreary.  Gray clouds as far as the eye could see.  Not anyone worth mentioning out this time of year.”  A pause.  “Well, except me, of course.”

“Hmmph,” said Oscar, glancing over his shoulder.  “If it were me, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Isn’t that better?  Already, the audience will feel as though they’ve gotten to know these characters. 

This works for longer dialogue, too:  allow the character’s personal beliefs, life philosophy, and generally disposition to dictate how they talk, and your readers will thank you.

Of course, this example is also good for giving the reader a general sense of what the characters’ relationship is like.  Which brings me to my next point:

2.  Allow the dialogue to show the character’s relationship. 

Everyone is a slightly different person depending on who they’re around.  Dynamic is an important thing to master, and when you nail it between two characters, sparks can fly.

Work out which character assumes more of the Straight Man role, and which is quicker to go for lowbrow humor.  Think of who’s the more analytical of the two and who’s the more impulse driven.  Who would be the “bad cop” if the situation called for it.  

Then, allow for this to show in your dialogue, and it will immediately become infinitely more entertaining.

Example:  

“Alright,” said Fogg, examining the map before him.  “Thus far, we’ve worked out how we’re going to get in through the ventilation system, and meet up in the office above the volt.  Then, we’re cleared to start drilling.”

Passepartout grinned.  “That’s what she said.” 

“Oh, for the love of God – REALLY, Jean.  Really!?  We are PLANNING a goddamn bank robbery!”

Some more questions about dynamic to ask yourself before writing dialogue: 

Who is more likely to talk and who is more likely to listen? 

Who would talk with their mouth full of food and who would politely wait to swallow?

Is their relationship fraternal/sororal?  If so, who would be the “little sibling?”

Is one of them a bit of a mother/father figure to the other? 

Who more frequently gets irritated with who?

Who has the more understated sense of humor?  Who’s a bit more juvenile?

Who’s better educated?  Does it show when they speak?

Who’s a bit more pretentious/full of themselves?

Who interrupts more?

Who swears more?

This can also be a valuable tool to cluing your reader in on who the characters are as people: 

3.  Think about what this dialogue can tell the reader.

It’s better to fill the reader in more gradually than to waist your valuable first chapter on needless exposition, and dialogue is a great way to do it.  

Think about what your characters are saying, and think about ways in which you can “sneak in” details about their past, their families, and where they came from into the discussion.  

For example, you could say:

Tuckerfield was a happy-go-lucky Southern guy with domineering parents,

and bore everyone to death.  

Or you could have him say: 

“Sheesh.  All this sneakin’ around in the woods late at night reminds me of being back in Kansas.  Good times, man, good times.”  There was a pause, before he added,  “‘Course, it wasn’t nearly so fun when I came home late for curfew and had to sleep on the front step, but y’know.  Life happens.”

Isn’t that much better than the omnipresent monotone?

Dialogue is also a great way to fill in potential plot holes early on, by having your characters talk them out and explain them. 

Moreover, dialogue can also be used to foreshadow, offer relevant hints about the climax, or provide information necessary for the resolution.  

So use it wisely!  

4.  Sprinkle in mini-actions throughout. 

Even in actionless dialogue, no one actually does nothing.  In my case, for example, I stim a lot.  I play with my hair.  I play with eating utensils.  It’s probably very annoying for those around me, but you get the point.

Less fidget-y folks might not do this as much, but they rarely sit totally still during conversations, either.  So occasionally add in these mini-actions, and it will make your characters feel a bit less like disembodied voices or floating heads.

For instance:  

Jo leaned back in her chair rolling her stiff neck from sitting still for so long.  “…So the way I see it,” she continued.  “Even if Pheris Beuller’s Day Off didn’t take place in Cameron’s imagination, Pheris was clearly a sociopath whose behavior shouldn’t be glamorized.”

“Ha.  As if.”  Avery paused to sip her root beer.  “Pheris,” she began, raising an index finger.  “Was clearly emblematic of counterculturist movements such as the Beat Generation, and his disregard for the capitalistic dogmas imposed upon younger generations is something to be admired.” 

“For Christ’s sake, will you two lighten up?”  scoffed Leo, counting out bills for the pizza.  “We were talking about which movie we wanted to watch tonight.  Jesus.”

5.  Remember how people actually speak.

In real life conversations, people don’t speak in paragraphs.  Alright, some people might, and this can actually be interesting as the personality aspect of a certain type of character.  

But generally speaking, people don’t speak in paragraphs, or as though they’re writing thought-out prose or letters.

In real conversations, people stutter.  They laugh at their own jokes, repeat words or phrases, and lose their train of thought.

Naturally, you don’t have to illustrate in your writing exactly how chaotic and mundane human speech can be, as writing would be pretty boring in general if it was strictly limited to miming reality.  But it’s good to keep in mind that your characters are talking, not writing in purple prose.

Exhibit A: 

“When I was a young boy, my mother and I had a most tumultuous relationship,” said Marcus.  “She saw me as a hallmark of her past failures, and took every opportunity to remind me as such.”     

Exhibit B:

“My mom, when I was kid, we had what you’d call a sort of tumultuous relationship,” said Marcus.  “Nothing I ever did was right for her.  She, uh – I think she saw me as sort of a hallmark of her past failures.  Took every opportunity to remind me of that.”    

Which of these is more organic, more easy to visualize, and more telling of character?  Unless the point of this dialogue is to illustrate that Marcus is a gentleman crook of some kind with pristine speaking mannerisms, I’m going to say the latter. 

Best of luck, I hope this helps, and happy writing!  <3

Here’s a little bit on subplots!

Some Artist Tips you May or May Not Know

Just from personal experience.

1: Never try to draw on an empty stomach. You’ll make mistakes and be uncomfortable. (But don’t stuff yourself till you’re sick either.)

2: If you have to go to the bathroom, go. A full bladder or otherwise does serious damage to the attention and patience spans. Plus it gives you time to stretch your legs.

3: Before you ink it, leave it alone. Come back later (a few hours, a day?) and check for major anatomy mistakes. Work on something else while you’re waiting.

4: Stay hydrated! The brain and fine motor skills work better when properly circulated.

5: Do not have an excessive amount of sugar before sitting down to work. You’ll get jittery and impatient. Same goes for immense amounts of caffeine.

6: If you’re stuck, take a break to stand and stretch. Walk around the room. But don’t THINK of it as a break. Just take time to really focus on your body. Loosen it up, get a goooood long stretch and some deep breaths. (but don’t pass out!) It’ll jolt the mind awake and let you really relax a moment.

7: Keep. All. Your. Old. Art. I don’t care what it is. Keep it. Date it if it’s in your computer folders. Make a suitcase filled with it. (I personally have ALL my old art in a thick work folder.)

8: Keep your sketchbooks together, used and unused. If there’s a good sale on sketchbooks, get two or three! You won’t regret it later. There’s no such thing as too many. (I currently have about ten spankin’ new sketchbooks and I know I’ll need/use every single one of them.)

9: Date your sketchbooks. Put a start and finish date on them.

10: I’m afraid I don’t practice this one: date your drawings. You’ll be happy about it later. You don’t need to SIGN every drawing, but do date them. At least date pages.

11: ART BLOCK HAPPENS. Art block is pretty much a CONSTANT state of mind for artists. You’re never out of art block totally. But sometimes you get bursts of inspiration that make it feel like you’re out. So instead of feeling like you’re ill if you suddenly have artblock, remind yourself that this happens all the time, and you get out of it eventually, every time. c:>

12: If you’re REALLY stuck on some bad art block, do what I do.

Draw a brain barf. This is where you take a blank sheet of paper, and you just LET your hand be A.D.D. Draw whatever comes to mind, as it comes to mind. in the middle of drawing a hippo in a top hat but you think of a jolly rancher riding a unicycle? Switch immediately.

Let your brain just vomit all over the page. You’ll be surprised what comes up and what art block this can get you out of. It’s gotten me out of it various times.

13: Take advice from more experienced artists. But do NOT take everything as Gospel. Some people are just wrong.

14: HAND SHYNESS/ ART ENVY/ SELF CONSCIOUSNESS/ AND SKILL IMPATIENCE WILL EAT YOU ALIVE like a Titan. Do not let yourself get shy after looking at ‘better art’, do not let yourself think your art is worthless or your skills are worthless, and do not let yourself get frustrated that you cannot be at a higher skill level RIGHT NOW. Your brain will try to do this. All the time. Keep yourself in check. If you keep going at it, and keep working, you will get better. This is why you keep your old art. Look at it to remind you how far you’ve come.

15: Draw what you like. This is so important. (This does not apply for exploitative art. :l That’s just wrong. So long as you’re not targeting someone harmfully, I guess you’re fine.)

But don’t let people’s preferences dictate what you can and can’t draw. Draw whatever the heck you like. Accept that no matter WHAT there will be someone out there that hates it. Always. This is just a fact of life. But don’t let it get you down. I would have stopped being an artist at day one if I had.

16: You never. Stop. Learning. Ever. You will be old and grey and still be learning new things. That’s okay. That’s the nature of art. Even the ‘pros’ don’t know everything.

I hope these help someone out there~

It's nice to know even the unbelievably attractive people have these moments

This made my day. 

Body Language Is More Revealing Than Words: How to Read People More Clearly

Our bodies can often be more honest than our words when it comes to communicating our thoughts, feelings, and intentions.

When we choose what to say, we’re often using the executive parts of our brains (the “neocortex”). This part of the brain is responsible for conscious attention, language, and thinking, all of which we have a degree of control over with some effort.

Because we have a choice in what we say, this makes it easier to conceal, deceive, and lie with our words.

However, we don’t usually choose our body language, which comes from the automatic parts of our brains (the “limbic system”). This part of the brain is responsible for our emotions, instincts, and gut reactions, all of which we don’t normally have control over.

According to What Every Body Is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People, because our body language is more automatic than our speech, this makes it harder to conceal, deceive, and lie about our true thoughts and feelings through our bodies.

Therefore, if you want to learn how to better read people and understand what’s going on inside their minds, you need to listen more to what their bodies are communicating to you. Especially if it doesn’t match up with what they are saying.

Most of us know how to choose our words carefully. We are taught from an early age how to act polite and kind even when we don’t want to – or how to tell a harmless lie to protect someone’s feelings (“Thanks for the birthday gift! I always wanted socks!”)

However, we don’t often pay attention to what our body language is communicating. And because it happens automatically without us deliberately choosing, it’s harder to override how our body responds to a situation. Our bodies rarely lie.

In this article, I will share basic guidelines on what to look for in body language. This can also be a valuable resource in learning what your own body is communicating to others, perhaps without you even realizing it.

Click here to read more

Just in case you forget this exists.

It exists.

Jimin’s duality: Choose your fighter

Just leave me your stardust to remember you by