He said, she said:
How to write unique, believable dialogue like a top author
What’s a ‘Writer’s Ear’? It sounds painful!
No it’s not a disease - in fact quite the opposite! The world’s best authors (which we have some examples below), have developed the ability to listen to the voices and rhythms in speech and tap into its musicality in a truly masterful way.The advice here is simply to listen when people talk. You know in conversations when you hear someone else make a point and your mind races to what you’re going to say in relation to that? If you’re doing that, then you’re not really listening. Listening on a deeper level is focusing only on the person that is speaking and observing not only what they’re saying, but how they are saying it.
Once you have mastered this deeper level of listening - you have developed your ‘Writer’s Ear’!
Can I see some examples from these masterful authors? You certainly can!
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
You wouldn’t think Sci-Fi would have the most natural dialogue, considering its unnatural setting, however The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has some of the most natural sounding and funniest speech I’ve ever read. Here’s a small example:
“'Drink up,' said Ford, 'you've got three pints to get through.'
'Three pints?" said Arthur. 'At lunchtime?'
The man next to Ford grinned and nodded happily. Ford ignored him. He said, 'Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.'
'Very deep,' said Arthur, 'you should send that in to the Reader's Digest. They've got a page for people like you.'
'Drink up.'”
It’s not surprising that the author, Adams, is great at writing speech considering he used to write comedy for radio! A job that relies on the comic timing and fluidity of natural speech!
My favourite part of this excerpt is where the stranger is ignored but still continues to spout his faux-philosophy. We all know this guy. And that is why it feels so natural, this character and the way he speaks is so familiar to every reader.
Notice the way that Adams varies where in the sentence he puts the speech tag, this adds to the rhythm of the scene and stops it becoming stale. He also throws out the rule book when it comes to spelling and grammar in speech, which we actively encourage you to do too! People don’t speak as they would write, so you should write dialogue as people would say it - even including spelling mistakes if it helps to get the character across!
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How's your speech going? Here’s some more handy advice...
Beloved - Toni Morrison
Someone who plays with grammar incredibly well is Toni Morrison with her dazzlingly innovative and heartbreaking novel Beloved. Here’s an excerpt of this natural speech:
“'Something funny 'bout that gal,' Paul D said, mostly to himself.
'Funny how?'
'Acts sick, sounds sick, but she don't look sick. Good skin, bright eyes and strong as a bull.'
'She's not strong. She can hardly walk without holding on to something.'
'That's what I mean. Can't walk, but I seen her pick up the rocker with one hand.'
'You didn't.'
'Don't tell me. Ask Denver. She was right there with her.'”
You can really get a sense of the accent here, which helps to set the context for the novel. You also get a sense of the conflict between the characters and, without even using speech tags on most of the lines, Morrison shows that there are two characters in conversation and have conflicting opinions - an incredible skill!
Morrison’s speech in this excerpt is completely concentrated. Distilled to only the necessary phrases. No waffle. Every word has been chosen to progress the plot and give us a deeper insight into the characters - another writing tip to make a note of!
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
Speaking of character insight, John Steinbeck does this wonderfully in his classic novel Of Mice and Men. Here’s a closer look at some of the dialogue:
“'I forgot,' Lennie said softly. 'I tried not to forget. Honest to God I did, George.'
'O.K.—O.K. I’ll tell ya again. I ain’t got nothing to do. Might jus’ as well spen’ all my time tell’n you things and then you forget ‘em, and I tell you again.'
'Tried and tried,' said Lennie, 'but it didn’t do no good. I remember about the rabbits, George.'
'The hell with the rabbits. That’s all you ever can remember is them rabbits. O.K.! Now you listen and this time you got to remember so we don’t get in no trouble. You remember settin’ in that gutter on Howard street and watchin’ that blackboard?'
Lennies’s face broke into a delighted smile. 'Why sure, George, I remember that…but…what’d we do then? I remember some girls come by and you says…you say…'
'The hell with what I says. You remember about us goin’ into Murray and Ready’s, and they give us work cards and bus tickets?'
'Oh, sure, George, I remember that now.' His hands went quickly into his side coat pockets. He said gently, 'George…I ain’t got mine. I musta lost it.' He looked down at the ground in despair.
'You never had none, you crazy bastard. I got both of ‘em here. Think I’d let you carry your own work card?'
Lennie grinned with relief.”
In this speech, Steinbeck builds characters symbiotically. The way that George and Lennie play off each other gives the reader insight into each character by highlighting the differences between them. Although both characters speak with a similar accent, it is clear that George is very much the teacher and Lennie very much the student in this conversation. Lennie’s repetition of ‘George’ in his speech serves to emphasise this, highlighting how much he looks up to him.
The speed of the speech is clearly different for each character too. George speaks quickly, as emphasised by the fact that he often drops the start of words and speaks in short uninterrupted sentences (and the fact that he’s often cutting Lennie off!). Lennie’s speech on the other hand is dotted with punctuation like ellipses that elongate the phrases and cause the reader to read his lines more slowly. Such a clever writing trick!
The way that Steinbeck intersplices action into the lines of speech also reinforces the character creation that’s happening in the dialogue. Sometimes it’s worth taking a break from what is being said to consider what the characters are doing when they are speaking and how they would react physically to speech.
So what have we learned from these incredible works and how can it be applied to your short story?
We’ve pulled out the top 6 tips from these accomplished works...
- Listen closely to real life dialogue around you to develop your ‘Writer’s Ear’.
- Concentrate your dialogue and cut out any waffle. Your speech should always have a purpose - either to build character or further the plot. If not - cut it out!
- Vary your speech tags. After a while, “he said, she said” can become very boring! Pop the tags mid sentence and vary the verbs to spice things up a little (and remember - you don’t have to use a speech tag every time if your characters are differentiated enough!).
- Intersplice physical actions & reactions to bolster the character creation.
- Play with grammar and spelling to portray accents. Study the intricacies of the speech you’re trying to copy and don’t be afraid to change the spelling of some words if it adds to the effect you’re trying to convey!
- Work on expressing different speech pacing to further build character. If your protagonist is a naturally slow or shy person… you might… um… want to… er.. I don’t know…erm... maybe……use…...ellipses?
Now it's your turn, take this literary toolbox and draft your dialogue like a pro!
Happy writing!
x
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