How to write dialogue?

[Legacy|iB]

Okay...I suppose I've got a genuine writing-related question here.

Lately, I've been getting some pretty awful writer's block. It might, might not be in relation to school, or if it's because I've just been getting bored a bit too much, but I'm starting to pin down the exact time and place it occurs. Namely, it occurs when I'm writing dialogue. How bad is it? Well, the next chapter to my Halo fic has been delayed about seven months because of one rough piece of dialogue that somehow did not seem right.

Now, the area that I tend to focus on when writing is the details. I try to describe as much as possible, no doubt, due to how I was taught writing from various teachers. They always tried to emphasize on me that too much dialogue was more like a movie, and movies were better seen than read. As such, I do believe that my ability to write dialogue has been somewhat...stunted.

No, seriously. I look over some of my previous work and my dialogue just sounds...painful. It either sounds disjointed, or is too much of a loose back-and-forth exchange. In addition, I have a lot of problems connecting dialogue. It's more because I don't know what other words to use in place of 'said', 'replied', 'yelled', etc.

I'm positive if I was to fix this, I would have an easier time writing, and it would sure be better than walking around my house thinking of what to write and how to approach it, but fall short because I can't get the conversation right.

 

[OniGanon]

Not trying to offend, but if your dialog seems off, it probably isn't due to it not having all sorts of colorful synonyms for the word 'said.' Actually, a lot of those alternative words end up being more distracting and detrimental, especially if used more than a few times.

The word 'said' is one of those words you don't take all that much notice of when reading. You can get away with writing it quite a lot. Going too far out of your way to avoid writing it will often prove more noticeable and more annoying. It's somewhat like when authors go to ridiculous lengths to try and avoid saying a character's name, replacing it with some two-part description.

Bearing that in mind, you can cut down on the amount of times you write 'said' if your dialog is properly formatted and it's very obvious who is speaking each line.

 

[rmt]

No, seriously. I look over some of my previous work and my dialogue just sounds...painful. It either sounds disjointed, or is too much of a loose back-and-forth exchange.

In addition, I have a lot of problems connecting dialogue. It's more because I don't know what other words to use in place of 'said', 'replied', 'yelled', etc.

Is it your dialog that is the problem or the attributions? Try ignoring the attributions for a while, and focus on the dialog itself.

I find dialog can be hard to get right. One trick that helps me is to imagine the characters actually speaking their lines. Are their speech patterns correct? Is it in character for them to be saying what they are? Are they reacting to what the other characters are saying? Are they doing anything while they're talking?

Is your dialog stilted perhaps? Remember, most people don't give long speeches, so keep each exchange fairly short. They cut each other off. They don't always understand what the other is saying. Conversations tend to flow organically; people tend not to just switch abruptly from one topic to another. Also, most people, even those who do have an understanding of grammar, don't always use correct grammar in speech. You don't need to have everyone sound like Ranma Saotome, but, unless your characters definitely would always use formal, correct language, try keeping their speech more relaxed and informal. It sounds more natural.

As for attributions, there is nothing wrong with "he/she/charname said". IMO, alternatives to said are probably best kept for when someone says something with emotion rather when they're just talking (e.g. snapped, yelled, growled, demanded, whispered etc), but too much of these tend to sound overdone.

Another alternative is to leave out the he/she said and show who is talking by describing the speaking character's body language or some action they're doing (or their thoughts if your writing from their POV) in the same paragraph. If you do this and format it correctly, you probably won't need many attributions at all.

I hope some of this helps.

 

[Legacy|iB]

Interesting...

Thanks, both of you. I was hoping to get some help, and now I've at least got a place to start.

My problems might be a bit of both - on one side, I feel I'm using the same attributions or the same 'pattern' with dialogue a bit too much, or the dialogue doesn't sound as much in-character.

I suppose the reason for the latter might be because (for my stuff in Love Hina, anyways) I can't imagine the characters speaking English and still sounding normal or at least tolerable.

But, I can see some places I can definitely work on, and I will do so in whatever time I have to write.