5 Steps to Better Dialogue: 5 Steps

By Julie C. Gilbert

Do you struggle with stilted dialogue?

Whether you're starting your first or fiftieth book, creating realistic dialogue will be vital to making your world come alive for readers.

Inside, you'll find …

Tips for getting to know your characters

A breakdown of what makes dialogue realistic

Tips for using dialogue tags wisely

Mistakes to avoid

Bonuses: Tips for using action beats and strengthening character voice. Writing prompts and exercises.
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If you enjoy this book, you may also wish to try 5 Steps to Better Blurbs and 5 Steps to Better Audiobooks.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Julie C. Gilbert
• Release date: Apr 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215709979

Julie C. Gilbert

Writer, chemistry teacher, Christian

Book preview

5 Steps to Better Dialogue:

Crafting Characters and Scenes that Come Alive

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By Julie C. Gilbert

Copyright © 2022 Julie C. Gilbert.

All rights reserved.

Aletheia Pyralis Publishers

Questions and comments email: [e-mail]

http://www.juliecgilbert.com/

Table of Contents:

Special Thanks:

Introduction:

Chapter 1: What is Good Dialogue?

Chapter 2: Step 1: Get to Know the Characters Part 1 Surface Factors

Chapter 3: Step 1: Get to Know the Characters Part 2 Past Factors

Chapter 4: Step 1: Get to Know the Characters Part 3 Present Factors

Chapter 5: Step 1: Get to Know the Characters Part 4 Social Factors

Chapter 6: Get to Know the Characters Questionnaire

Chapter 7: Step 2: Part 1 Character Relationships and Power Dynamics

Chapter 8: Step 2: Part 2 Dig Deeper into Power Dynamics

Chapter 9: Step 2: Part 3 Live Side of Worldbuilding

Chapter 10: Step 2: Part 4 Non-Living Side of Worldbuilding

Chapter 11: Worldbuilding Questionnaire

Chapter 12: Step 3: Part 1 Write How People Speak – Four Factors

Chapter 13: Step 3: Part 2 Write How People Speak – The Power of Word Choice

Chapter 14: Step 4: Use Dialogue Tags Wisely Part 1 The Great Debate

Chapter 15: Step 4: Use Dialogue Tags Wisely Part 2 Overuse, Misuse, and Abuse of Dialogue Tags

Chapter 16: Step 5: Avoid These Mistakes

Chapter 17: Bonus 1: Using Action Beats, Inner Dialogue, and Longer Descriptions

Chapter 18: Bonus 2: Building a Powerful Character Voice

Chapter 19: Bonus 3: Reader Thoughts, Writing Prompts, and More Exercises

Thank You for Reading:

Character Questionnaire Blank:

Special Thanks:

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Thank you to the brave souls who test-drove the book.

Guy Worthey

Stefanie Pfoutz

Rick Johnson

Introduction:

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Dialogue is a vital part of every story. The conversations characters have will shape who they are and how the reader perceives them. Such conversation should work with the descriptions in the setting to help define character motivations, attitudes, and actions.

Who is this book for and how should you use it?

This book is for any writer looking to improve their dialogue. If you struggle with stilted language in general or just want some exercises to beef up a particular skill, there should be something in here for you.

Who am I and why should you care what I have to say?

I’m a writer who happens to have an interest in many genres from a reading and writing perspective. My main experience is soft science fiction, young adult science fiction, fantasy, Christian mystery, and clean thrillers. I’ve also dabbled in dystopia. I can also hold fine conversations in my head. While not an absolute requirement to writing realistic dialogue, it certainly helps.

Side Note About Cursing: I’m a high school chemistry teacher and a Christian, so I don’t personally include cursing in any of my works. I’m aware people curse in real life. Some curse a lot in real life. Whether your character curses or not will depend on his or her personality. I’m sure you’ll know instinctively where to drop four-letter words.

Limitations and Scope:

I don’t write romance, horror, erotica, and several other genres. While there will be some situations not addressed, I am designing the exercises to be as widely applicable as possible.

More than other 5 Steps books, this book will have interchangeable modules. If you are like me, you will still want to read it start to finish first, but then, feel free to return to any section that is particularly useful.

What makes realistic dialogue?

Believable dialogue forms the beating heart of realistic characters and lifelike scenes. All three will affect each other. You can’t have one without the other because writing believable dialogue will make the characters come to life, and in turn, allow the reader to picture the scene.

I may ask a lot of questions. It’s an occupational hazard of being a teacher, but it’s also the most efficient way to drive home a learning point.

What’s in this book?

I’ll start out by covering each of the five steps to better dialogue in detail. Each of these sections will start by breaking down the point. After that, I will include some exercises to help you practice the point. Next, I will try to give you different exercises to help you form habits that will aid you in dialogue creation.

Disclaimer 1:

I can’t guarantee your dialogue writing skills will improve by a certain quantifiable amount. As a science teacher, I would love to be able to deliver such help in a measurable manner. However, it’s not possible. Everyone will start at a different skill level. I expect if you read this book a dozen times you may be able to glean something new with each read. I can only say for certain that if you purchase with an open mind, you are likely to find something useful for improving your ability to craft natural dialogue.

Disclaimer 2:

As with the 5 Steps to Better Audiobooks, some sections may sound repetitive. I will attempt to strike a balance between catering to those reading straight through, and those cherry-picking certain sections.

Disclaimer 3:

Dialog is an acceptable spelling of the word. I’ve elected to go with dialogue, so that is what you will see throughout this work. If that gives you an icky feeling in your gut, I sincerely apologize.

5 Steps to Better Dialogue - Overview

Step 1: Get to know the characters.

Step 2: Consider the character relationships, power dynamics, and worldbuilding.

Step 3: Write how people speak.

Step 4: Use dialogue tags wisely.

Step 5: Avoid these mistakes.

Bonus 1: Use action beats and descriptions to avoid overusing dialogue tags.

Bonus 2: Building a powerful character voice.

Bonus 3: Reader thoughts, writing prompts, and more exercises

5 Steps to Better Dialogue - Annotated

Step 1: Get to know the characters.

Background, age, experience, and many other factors determine what words one knows and how they choose to apply them. This section may be the most labor-intensive, but you’ll find the effort is well worth it. If you’re comfortable with the way your character is speaking, you can skip over most of this, but I still think it is worth understanding some of what goes in to shaping the way a person speaks.

Step 2: Consider the character relationships, power dynamics, and worldbuilding.

People naturally tailor their speech to fit certain situations. This section will include a discussion about formality. What lines are spoken and how they are rendered can change if and when the power dynamics of the scene shift. The world they live in and their position in that world will also control speech patterns.

Step 3: Write how people speak.

Certain genres will require more formal speech patterns to be adhered to. That said, most modern books will feature mostly informal speech between characters.

Step 4: Use dialogue tags wisely.

Of all the steps, this one is apt to produce the most controversy. Whether you believe using dialogue tags to be a good thing or not, they will at some point become a necessity. No matter which philosophy you subscribe to, you will want to avoid overusing dialogue tags.

Step 5: Avoid these mistakes.

Writers do many things that annoy readers. There are also several kinds of dialogue that should be kept to a minimum.

Bonus 1: Use action beats and descriptions to avoid overusing dialogue tags.

Action beats and other descriptions can help you avoid using too many dialogue tags.

Bonus 2: Building a powerful character voice.

Words, tone, mannerisms, and other factors combine to create realistic character voices. You can also reveal more about your character by the problems they face and the flaws they show.

Bonus 3: Reader thoughts, writing prompts, and more exercises.

This section covers some things that irritate certain readers. Next, I’ll include a few writing prompts and exercises.

Potential Benefits:

Getting to know your characters and your world better.

Understanding how power dynamics can influence a scene.

Honing your instincts for using dialogue or description.

Learning how to let your characters sound like themselves (not you).

Learning to responsibly go beyond basic dialogue tags.

Conclusion:

Thank you for joining me on this journey to make characters more realistic. Natural dialogue shapes realistic characters. These people are the ones we and our readers want to root for.