The Character House, Pt. 5: The Walls of Dialogue

Why does some dialogue sparkle with life, while other dialogue falls flatter than a pancake? The Character House reveals the answers.

In this model, the walls of the house represent the character’s dialogue and actions. Just as the walls are the most visible parts of the house, the character’s dialogue and actions are visible expressions of invisible beliefs, backstories, fears, and goals. 

Today’s post will discuss dialogue, and next week’s post will explore actions.

How to Develop Character Voices

Real people speak differently from one another. They have different personalities, accents, vocabularies, areas of expertise, and so on. An English professor speaks differently from a middle schooler, and a computer scientist uses different words than a poet. Stories become more authentic when each character has a distinctive speaking voice.

1. Consider the character’s background.

The Walls of Dialogue are supported by the Backstory Basement. In other words, a character’s speaking style depends on many areas of backstory, including age, culture, education, interests, occupation, personality, time period, and more.

2. Use grammar and punctuation to your advantage.

Many nuts-and-bolts tools, such as word choice, punctuation, and sentence structure, can help you shape a unique character voice.

Lots of periods can suggest a blunt personality: “Stop. Just stop.” Meanwhile, question marks can reveal an inquisitive nature, ellipses can show hesitation, and hyphens can indicate stuttering or nervousness. A scientist or detective might use long, essay-style sentences to explain clues or evidence.

3. Consider the context.

Just like real people, characters will speak differently to different people in different situations. They’ll use different words when speaking to their best friend, their boss, and their grouchy neighbor. They’ll become more or less formal at home, at work, and on vacation.

Consider whether your character’s speech fits the setting, situation, and other people involved.

4. Listen to audio of a real person speaking.

You can model a character’s dialogue on the speech of a person—whether it’s a friend, family member, or movie character. As you write your character’s dialogue, you can imagine the reference’s speaking voice in your head. When I wrote a character with a stutter, I found YouTube videos of people with stutters that helped me write my character’s dialogue. 

5. Pick a few distinctive traits.

When you write dialogue, you don’t have to include personality, backstory, occupation, education, interests, and catchphrases in every single line. Instead, pick just a few distinctive traits and making sure those traits appear prominently in your character’s speech.

An individual sentence might not speak volumes about backstory or occupation. But in conjunction with the rest of the dialogue, each line contributes to the readers’ understanding of the character. 

How to Write the Dialogue in Scenes

1. Keep the characters’ goals in mind.

Characters shouldn’t speak merely because you as the author need them to speak. Instead, characters speak because they’re trying to achieve certain goals. Their dialogue should reflect these goals, rather than serving only to convey information to the audience.

2. Incorporate conflict into dialogue.

Just as dialogue should reflect individual goals, conversations should reveal conflict between characters. However, not every conversation must be an argument. Sometimes characters must discuss a shared problem, such as the king’s harsh policies or an upcoming battle. In other scenes, characters may debate the best method to achieve a goal or complete a mission. 

3. Make use of subtext.

Subtext refers to an unspoken meaning, which may contradict the spoken words. Suppose a character steps outside in mid-April to find five inches of snow on the ground. He says, “What lovely spring weather we’re having!” His actual meaning is, “I can’t believe it snowed in the middle of April.” This unspoken meaning is hidden beneath the spoken sarcasm. 

Characters usually won’t explain their deepest emotions, desires, or fears in their dialogue. Instead, they might hide the truth, omit information, put on a facade, or dance around their true feelings.

A character who desires the approval of her critical father probably won’t directly say, “I really want your approval, and it hurts when you criticize me.” This on-the-nose dialogue lacks subtlety and feels forced. Instead, she might mutter statements like, “Fine, I’ll just work all weekend. Then I can live up to your impossible standards.” This dialogue reflects her feelings without directly stating them.

4. Give your dialogue an emotional flavor.

Janet Burroway and her colleagues explain that dialogue is more compelling when the word choice conveys the character’s emotions. For example: 

• Neutral: “I’m going to the store this afternoon.”
• Positive: “I can’t wait to head to the store and pick up my new computer!”
• Negative: “Ugh, my mom’s making me go grocery shopping again.”

Usually, your dialogue should carry either a positive or negative tone, not a neutral one. The word choice should convey the character’s emotions so clearly that you don’t have to explain them in the narration. When the dialogue expresses clear emotions about a situation, the readers will be more likely to feel what the characters are feeling. 

The Walls of Dialogue

Authentic dialogue makes a story ring true. Just as the walls of a house rest on the basement, characters’ dialogue stems from their backstory, beliefs, goals, and fears. Use punctuation, sentence structure, and real-life references to ensure that each character displays a unique speaking style. When writing the dialogue in your story, consider your characters’ conflicting goals, make use of subtext, and choose words with a clear emotional flavor. 

These tools will help you confirm that each line of dialogue brims with personality, showcases emotion, and explodes with conflict.

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What are the defining traits of your protagonist’s dialogue?

You May Also Like

• The Character House, Pt. 13: 3 Ways to Build a Character House
• The Character House, Pt. 12: The 5 Stages of a Moving Character Arc
• The Character House, Pt. 11: Roof and Personality Traits
• The Character House, Pt. 10: Emotions and Home Utilities
• The Character House, Pt. 9: The Windows of Voice and Vulnerability