“Putting Words in Your Character’s Mouth”

Pick up a novel. Open it anywhere and flip through six pages. Within those six pages you will probably see chunks of dialogue.  

Dialogue is simply two or more characters talking. Dialogue should give the reader insight into your characters, the way that communicating with your next door neighbor tells you something about his personality. Young writers sometimes underestimate the power of their characters’ words. If your dialogue is clunky or stiff, it can ruin the effect of your story and detract from your plot and characters.

Keep in mind three major factors when writing dialogue—your character, your setting, and your personal experience.

The first thing to consider is the character who is speaking. Is it male or female? Is he or she a knight, a pawnbroker, a third-grade bully, or a grandmother in a retirement home? The personality traits, values, and background of your character should color the words that come out of his mouth. If he grew up in poverty with no chance for formal education, his speech should not be always grammatically correct. If she is a patient person, she shouldn’t speak harshly the first time someone misunderstands her instructions.

Secondly, think about your setting. Are your characters standing in a cornfield, discussing the weather, or are they climbing the last few feet to a mountain peak while snow swirls around them? What the characters have to say to each other has much to do with the situation they are in. Suppose you were writing a novel set in our modern age. If your main character says to his friend, “Methinks I shall go to town. Mayhap on my journey I will encounter a fair maiden to cheer my lonely heart. Wilt thou accompany me?” Instead, your character would probably say, “I’m going into town to meet a girl. Wanna come?” What is appropriate dialogue in one setting sounds ludicrous in another.

Third, consider your personal experience. How do the people around you communicate with each other? What are the exact words that they say? Writers tend to put far too many words in their characters’ mouths, when in real life the same situation would require only a few words. Avoid giving your characters long speeches; your reader may lose patience and either skip ahead or lay the story aside altogether.

Visit our Tips & Tricks section for some valuable exercises on improving your dialogue.

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