Writing Dialogue: Eight Straightforward Tips (Plus Examples)

This post was first published in March 2012 and last updated in June 2025.

Unless you’re creating flash fiction or something decidedly experimental, writing dialogue is essential.

Great dialogue can immerse the reader in your book, your world, and most especially your characters.

Poor dialogue jars the reader, and may even see them put the book down in frustration.

Whether you love writing dialogue and find it comes easily, or you struggle with it and prefer action or description, there are lots of ways to make it work. We’ll go through eight tips for writing strong, believable dialogue—but first, let’s get clear about what dialogue actually is.

What is Dialogue in a Story?

In a short story or novel, dialogue is the conversations between two or more characters. Usually, dialogue consists of spoken words, though text message exchanges could also be considered a form of dialogue. If one character is speaking at length, this is technically a monologue rather than dialogue.

In English, dialogue is enclosed in quotation marks:

“Here’s an example of some dialogue,” Ali said.

You can use double or single quotation marks—just be consistent.

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Want some extra help with dialogue? Get my free editing checklist: the first five mistakes are all dialogue-related.

You can also buy the full version of Editing Essentials, which comes with a free guide to dialogue punctuation and formatting.

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The point of dialogue is to either reveal character or propel the story forward. The best dialogue will do both!

How to Write Dialogue: Eight Tips for Good Dialogue

Ready to learn how to write effective dialogue?

The first four tips are about the content of your dialogue; the next four are about how to lay it out and punctuate it.

We’ll look dialogue examples along the way, from a range of classic and contemporary novels and short stories.

Tip #1: Craft Dialogue That Sounds Realistic

Your dialogue should seem realistic, in context, so your readers can “hear” the conversation that’s taking place. This means:

• Don’t let characters give long, unbroken speeches. In a normal conversation, there are interruptions, questions, or at least visual cues (e.g. someone nodding or frowning). If a character is giving a long speech in your book—perhaps they’re a lecturer, lawyer, or someone else whose job involves talking at length—then you might give us the start and/or end of their speech in direct dialogue.
• Use language that’s appropriate for your character. Most people will use contractions (“isn’t” rather than “is not”) when they talk; some will use non-standard English like “ain’t” or colloquial phrases. The way they speak will also reflect their age, level of education, where they grew up, and potentially where they now live.
• Don’t always have your characters speaking in complete sentences. They might just say a single word or phrase, or they might trail off. Another character could interrupt.

But … don’t take it too far! Your dialogue won’t read like a transcript of a real-life conversation (which will have a lot of “ums” “ers” “you knows” and so on). You also don’t want endless small talk: readers will soon switch off.

Example: From Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)

“You’re in deep poo,” said Peter. “They found out what you did to that kid at school, and now they’re gonna make you do time out in the Belt.”

“I’m only six, moron. I’m a juvenile.”

“You’re a Third, turd. You’ve got no rights.”

The dialogue isn’t a true representation of how children actually speak (especially as Card’s child characters are extraordinarily intelligent) – but it sounds realistic, with the use of contractions like “you’re” and non-standard words like “gonna”, as well as the insults (“moron” and “turd”).

Watch Out For …

Overdoing the “real” nature of your dialogue. Too many instances of the ellipsis (the “dot dot dot” where a character trails off), too much general chit-chat, lots of “ums” and “ers”, and constant interruptions will start to wear on the reader. You’re aiming for realistic dialogue, not a seemingly verbatim real-life conversation.

Being consistent with punctuation. Dialogue can get a bit tricky to punctuate. For instance, I always use an ellipsis when someone breaks off part-way of their own accord, and a dash when they’re interrupted – this is a fairly common convention. If you do something different, make sure you’re at least consistent about it.

Tip #2: Give Each Characters a Unique Voice

Real people don’t all talk in the same way. Just think of the people you know. Probably:

• Some of them seem to swear every other word; others never utter anything stronger than “gosh”.
• Some use more complex words than others – think “paraphernalia” vs “stuff”.
• Some tend to go on a bit; others don’t say much.
• Some will have particular phrases that you associate with them – verbal tics.
• Some will use dialect or non-grammatical constructions.

The way people speak can clue you into their age, gender, class, geographical background, and level of education. You don’t necessarily have to bow to stereotypes here – you might have a teenager who eschews swear words and uses quite formal language, for instance.

Also, breaking a pattern can be powerful. If someone who rarely says more than two words delivers an impassioned speech, or someone who never swears turns the air blue, readers will take notice!

Example: From The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkein

“I am Mr. Bilbo Baggins. I have lost the dwarves and I have lost the wizard, and I don’t know where I am; and I don’t want to know, if only I can get away.”

“What’s he got in his handses?” said Gollum, looking at the sword, which he did not quite like. “A sword, a blade which came out of Gondolin!”

“Sssss” said Gollum, and became quite polite. “Praps ye sits here and chats with it a bitsy, my preciousss. It likes riddles, praps it does, does it?”

Who could mistake Gollum’s dialogue (particularly “my preciousss”). The unusual grammar (using “it” as well as “he” and “ye” to refer to Bilbo) and the sybilent sss stand out in particular. This is early in our first introduction to Gollum, and it’s clear that he’s distinctly odd and quite sinister.

Watch Out For…

Going over the top with catchphrases. For me, these fall into the category of character “quirks” – they’re handy for bit-parts but don’t really go deep enough for main characters. By all means, give your characters the occasional phrase that is associated with them, but don’t let this draw too much focus.

Using phonetic spellings to convey an accent or dialect. Steer clear or use a very light touch. This can rapidly become unreadable … and potentially insulting or patronising to readers who share the same geographical or racial background as your character.

Tip #3: Don’t Over-Explain Your Dialogue

I’ve learnt this one the hard way (and many thanks to Lorna, my lovely editor, for all her help and patience…)

Your readers are experienced. Yours is not the first novel or short story they’ve read. In their lifetime, they’ll have read millions of words of fiction.

They’re also experienced in talking and listening. They understand things like sarcasm and subtext. They know that the same short phrase can mean wildly different things from different people in different contexts.

As much as possible, let your dialogue stand up by itself. Don’t throw in extra lines of explanation to ensure that the reader gets a joke, or understands the emotion behind the dialogue.

(Incidentally, this is one key reason to workshop your novel-in-progress, or to use beta readers or an editor: they’ll let you know when you do need to add a few extra words of explanation.)

Example: From Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway

“The beer’s nice and cool,” the man said.

“It’s lovely,” the girl said.

“It’s really an awfully simple operation, Jig,” the man said. “It’s not really an operation at all.”

The girl looked at the ground the table legs rested on.

“I know you wouldn’t mind it, Jig. It’s really not anything. It’s just to let the air in.”

The girl did not say anything.

“I’ll go with you and I’ll stay with you all the time. They just let the air in and then it’s all perfectly natural.”

“Then what will we do afterward?”

“We’ll be fine afterward. Just like we were before.”

Hills Like White Elephants is a masterpiece in subtext. At no point does Hemingway need to spell out that the man in the story is trying to persuade the girl, Jig, to abort their baby. He doesn’t need to tell us that Jig feels, at the very least, ambivalent about the idea of aborting the child, or that the man is trying very hard to persuade her to go ahead with it … while trying to seem like a good guy.

Watch Out For…

Telling us how a character is feeling. We should be able to tell from the dialogue itself (plus supporting action – do they frown, smile, stand up, sit down, turn away, gesture…?)

Unclear dialogue attributions. You’re not over-explaining just because you’re making it clear who’s speaking. An extra “he said” or a line of action along with the dialogue is fine.

Tip #4: Consider Non-Verbal Communication Too

Not everything needs to be said. We communicate in many other ways, such as:

• Nodding or shaking our heads. (Do check what’s appropriate for your characters’ culture, if they don’t share your own—e.g. the head bobble is a common gesture in India.)
• Making gestures – a shrug, a thumbs up, a wink, or even giving someone the finger. (Again, be sure the gesture is correct for the cultural and/or historical context.)
• With our body language – this may not be intentional, but it can communicate a lot.
• Through silence – ignoring a particular question or conversational gambit.

These responses can help vary things, and can assist when you want or need to have characters holding a conversation in a noisy environment.

Sometimes, a non-verbal response can also be more powerful than having your character say something. For instance, if one character says, “I’m sorry. Please forgive me?” and the other is completely silent, then turns away, that’s far more devastating than a half-hearted response, or even an argument.

Example: From The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

“I’m Kerry-Anne. Remember you from school. The swimmer. Super-brain. Didn’t whatshisface, Mr Blandford, do an assembly on you once? Said you were going to end up at the Olympics?”

Nora nodded.

“So, did you?”

“I, um, gave it up. Was more into music … at the time. Then life happened.”

“So what do you do now?”

“I’m … between things.”

“Got anyone, then? Bloke? Kids?”

Nora shook her head. Wishing it would fall off. Her own head. Onto the floor. So she never had to have a conversation with a stranger ever again.

Here, Nora’s fervent wish to not be in the conversation at all (and her depression about her life circumstances) is conveyed through not just her minimal responses, but also her non-verbal gestures: the nod and headshake.

Watch Out For…

Using the same action or gesture repeatedly. I end up with rather too much of characters putting hands on other characters’ arms, characters shrugging,  characters turning away and turning back … it’s easily done when you’re drafting, and easily fixed if you’re looking out for it when revising.

Missing line breaks. If John is speaking and Susan reacts (non-verbally), you need to start a new line for her reaction. Otherwise, you risk confusing readers about who’s speaking vs acting.

Tip #5: Keep Your Dialogue Tags Simple

A dialogue tag looks like this:

• He said
• She answered
• John asked

It’s the speaker’s name (or a pronoun referring to them) plus a speaking verb. This “tags” the dialogue as belonging to a particular character.

When I was a budding writer at primary school, I remember being taught to vary dialogue tags – we had to come up with a list of different words to use instead of “said”. While this is a great exercise for building a child’s vocabulary, it’s not great training for a fiction writer.

Readers don’t notice the repetition of “he said” or “she said”. We’re so used to reading these that our eyes just skim over them.

But if you throw in a few unusual dialogue tags, those will stand out. Tags like “snarled” or “expostulated” probably don’t belong in your story, unless you’re writing a humorous piece.

The safest tags to stick to:

• Said
• Asked

Other good options are tags like whispered, yelled, shouted, muttered to indicate volume (and potentially emotion). I find the tag “lied” can be useful to avoid ambiguity.

Can you use more outlandish tags? Yes—but use them sparingly and only if they truly fit the situation and character.

Example: From The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Prim is screaming hysterically behind me. She’s wrapped her skinny arms around me like a vice. “No, Katniss! No! You can’t go!”

“Prim, let go,” I say harshly, because this is upsetting me and I don’t want to cry. When they televise the replay of the reapings tonight, everyone will make note of my tears, and I’ll be marked as an easy target. A weakling. I will give no one that satisfaction. “Let go!”

I can feel someone pulling her from my back. I turn and see Gale has lifted Prim off the ground and she’s thrashing in his arms. “Up you go, Catnip,” he says, in a voice he’s fighting to keep steady, and then he carries Prim off towards my mother. I steel myself and climb the steps.

“Well, bravo!” gushes Effie Trinket. “That’s the spirit of the Games!” She’s pleased to finally have a district with a little action going on in it. “What’s your name?”

I swallow hard. “Katniss Everdeen,” I say.

“I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don’t want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let’s give a big round of applause to our nest tribute!” trills Effie Trinket.

To the everlasting credit of the people of District 12, not one person claps.

The use of “say” for Katniss and Gale’s dialogue contrasts starkly with the use of “gushes” and “trills” for Effie’s. This is a life-or-death situation for them; it’s televised entertainment for Effie. Even though Effie’s dialogue tags stand out as unusual, it’s appropriate for the character and the stark dichotomy between the districts and the Capitol.

Watch Out For…

Using adverbs and adjectives with your dialogue tags. You often don’t need these: your character’s tone will be apparent from the words they use; you don’t need to tell the reader “John said angrily” or “Susan asked impatiently”.

Tagging dialogue with an action verb like “smiled” or “laughed.” e.g. “I’m so pleased to see you,” smiled John.  We can’t “laugh” a whole sentence and we certainly can’t “smile” one. If you want the smile, laugh, etc, have it as a stand-alone action: John smiled. “I’m so pleased to see you.”

Tip #6: … Or Take Dialogue Tags Out Altogether

You definitely need some dialogue tags in your short story or novel, but you don’t need to tag every single line of speech. Here’s another way to assign dialogue to a character:

John looked up from the paper. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”

It’s obvious that John’s speaking, because the dialogue comes straight after his action. (The action part is called an “action beat” or a “dialogue beat”.)

You can do it the other way round, too:

“He should have been home by now.” Sarah paced around the room, pausing long enough to glance out of the window at the empty street.

If you have a conversation between two people, you can sometimes get away with just having the lines of dialogue, with no tags at all, for a short space. This works especially well if the characters have quite different speech patterns.

In a conversation where multiple characters are involved, you’ll need clear tags and/or action beats with your dialogue, unless it’s very obvious who’s responding.

Example: From Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, by P.G. Wodehouse

The first line is Wooster’s, then the second is Jeeves’.  If you’re at all familiar with the characters, it’s very easy to tell who’s who!

“Under the tiddly-poms of whatever-it-is … How does the rest of it go?”

“Under the bludgeonings of change their heads are … pardon me … bloody but unbowed, sir.”

“That’s right. Your own?”

“No, sir. The late William Earnest Henley, 1849-1903.”

“Ah?”

“The title of the poem is ‘Invictus’. But did I understand Mrs Travers to say that Lord Sidcup was expected, sir?”

This passage goes on with a few more lines before there’s any action. The distinct character voices (and the fact that there are only two people in the conversation) make it easy to follow, even without the dialogue tags.

Watch Out For…

How you punctuate your dialogue at the end of each line. Use question marks and exclamation marks where appropriate to help us understand the tone of what’s being said. If a character is interrupted, an en dash or em dash can indicate this; if they trail off, use an ellipsis. (Tip: the punctuation should always go inside the closing quotation mark.)

Going on for too long without tags or actions. It can get tricky for the reader to follow conversations with no dialogue tags or actions, even if you’re switching back and forth between two speakers. You can also end up with a “talking heads” effect where we can’t really visualise the characters or what they’re actually doing while talking.

For lots more on dialogue tags and dialogue beats, check out Are You Using “Said” Too Frequently? Dialogue Tags and Dialogue Beats Explained.

#7: Format Dialogue with Paragraph Breaks Between Speakers

Something that’s obvious when you just have dialogue, but not so obvious when you have a mixture of dialogue and action, is that each new speaker should have a new paragraph.

This, for instance, is incorrect:

“Could he be right?” David asked, turning to Rachel. “I don’t know,” she said.

Instead, it should be:

“Could he be right?” David asked, turning to Rachel.

“I don’t know,” she said.

(You could get away without the “she said” here, too, because the new line indicates the change of speaker.)

If a character does something in response—whether instead of or in addition to speaking—you should also start a new paragraph for their action, like this:

“Could he be right?” David asked, turning to Rachel.

She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Example: From Atonement, by Ian McEwan

Like his brother, Pierrot had the knack of depriving his lines of any sense. He intoned a roll-call of words: ‘Do-you-think-you-can-escape-from-my-clutches?’ All present and correct.

“It’s a question,” Briony cut in. “Don’t you see? It goes up at the end.”

“What do you mean?”

“There. You just did it. You start low and end high. It’s a question.”

He swallowed hard, drew a breath, and made another attempt, producing this time a roll-call on a rising chromatic scale.

“At the end. It goes up at the end!”

Now came a roll-call on the old monotone, with a break of register, a yodel, on the final syllable.

We can tell when Briony (the 13-year-old playwright and director) is speaking, and when Pierrot (one of her 9-year-old twin cousins) is speaking, partly due to the position of line breaks. Note how Pierrot’s reported, indirect dialogue (“made another attempt”, “now came a roll-call” is also on its own line).

Watch Out For…

Including someone else’s action in the same paragraph as the speaker. When a character speaks a line of dialogue, the action (or thought) that comes straight after the dialogue should be theirs. Notice how Ian McEwan has put a new paragraph after Briony says “It’s a question,” so that Pierrot’s action (“He swallowed hard…”) stands separately.

Overdoing the paragraph breaks. If one character is speaking, acting/thinking, then speaking again, it can all go in one paragraph—as we’ll see in a moment. Too many paragraph breaks can look choppy, and the reader may get confused, thinking you’ve switched to a different character’s dialogue.

#9: Consider Breaking Lines of Dialogue in the Middle

Most of the time, dialogue tags or associated actions go before or after the dialogue. Sometimes, though, you’ll want to position a dialogue tag or action in the middle of the speech.

Here are a couple of examples:

“No,” she said. “No, I don’t believe you.”

“What the hell?” Tom looked around at the others. “Did any of you know about this?”

Usually, you do this to indicate a pause. It’s also a useful way to get the dialogue tag in near the start, if a character is going to deliver several sentences of dialogue.

If you split up a sentence, then the second part of the dialogue should start with a lower case letter. (At some stage I was taught the exact opposition – that the second part should always start with a capital – but it seems like that’s not how it’s supposed to be done!)

“Well,” Jane said, “perhaps we’d better agree to disagree.”

Dialogue is a lot of fun to write, though it can be tough to do well – it’s definitely a good idea to go back and edit your dialogue carefully after writing the first draft.

Example: From We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman

“And my ears are lopsided,” says Amy.

Rosie tilts her head and paddles herself towards Amy, considering her very carefully. “I’m not seeing that. You have great ears. Like Goldie Hawn’s.”

“I measured them with a ruler once,” says Amy, “when I was at school. It’s only a millimetre but I always see it. And my legs are too short for my body.”

Rosie nods, pushing herself back to the middle of the pool, where the sun is hitting hardest. “More to the point, though, Amy, what do you like about yourself?”

“I’m English,” says Amy. “I don’t like anything about myself.”

“Yawn,” says Rosie. “I used to be English too, and I got over it. Pick something.”

“I think I’m loyal,” says Amy.

“That’s a good quality,” agrees Rosie. “For a bodyguard.”

Several of the lines here have the tag in the middle, adding to the conversation’s sense of rhythm. Instead of seeming oddly choppy or quick-fire (which it might, if we had the tags only at the end of sentences), we get these mini pauses.

Watch Out For…

Commas versus full stops (periods). If the dialogue that continues after the tag is part of the same sentence, use a comma after the tag, then start the second part of the speech with a lower-case letter, like this: “If you think about it,” Susan said, “there’s no difference between us and them.” If you’re splitting two separate sentences, do it like this: “I know I’m right,” Susan said. “There’s no difference between us and them.”

Having too many lines of dialogue like this. Using tags or action beats in the middle of dialogue can help vary the pace, but if you do it all the time, it can start to draw attention—making it seem like your characters are speaking in a weird, stop-start rhythm.

Dialogue can be great fun to write … but you want it to also be effective. By using the tips above, either as you draft new material or as you edit your story, you’ll find your characters’ voices becoming increasingly clear, natural, and engaging.

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Want more help with dialogue? Take a look at:

Everything You Need to Know About Writing Great Dialogue (a round-up of all my posts about dialogue)

Editing Essentials (this downloadable guide comes with a bonus list of instructions on formatting and punctuating dialogue)

You can get a free copy of the basic Editing Essentials checklist (includes help on dialogue) by joining the Aliventures newsletter list: