Words & style · Tip 48 of 82 · 5 min read
Writing Dialogue That Sounds Real
Make your characters talk like real people, and learn the punctuation that goes with it.
Dialogue is when characters talk to each other. It brings a story to life, because readers can "hear" your characters. It also shows what kind of person each character is.
The rules of speech marks
- Put the words people say inside speech marks: "Like this."
- The comma or full stop goes inside the speech marks.
- Start a new line every time a different person speaks.
"Is that a frog in your pocket?" asked Zara. "No," said Theo. "It's a very small prince." "Then why is it saying ribbit?"
Let each character sound different
Real people don't all talk the same way. A posh old lady, a pirate and a five-year-old would all say "hello" very differently!
- Pirate: "Ahoy there, ye scurvy landlubber!"
- Old lady: "Good afternoon, young man. Do wipe your feet."
- Little brother: "Hi! Wanna see my worm?"
Try words instead of "said"
"Said" is a great word and it's fine to use it a lot. But sometimes a different word tells us how something was said:
- whispered, muttered, mumbled (quiet)
- shouted, yelled, bellowed (loud)
- giggled, sobbed, gasped (feelings)
Okay 😐
"Go away," said Mia.
Wow! 🤩
"Go away," Mia sobbed, pulling the blanket over her head.