Besides people asking me about my writing and if I can help them with ideas to start their books, they ask me how to write dialogue.

The latter question, how to write dialogue, reminds me of a job offer from a studio in the film industry.

“To enliven the action, we need good dialogues,” The producer said.

I felt ready for the task. However, as it turned out, the production was for a pornographic movie. How would it be possible for me to enliven the action through dialogue in that specific scenario?

Oh, well. The subject is not my forte, so I declined the offer.

Yet, there are some points to consider in writing dialogue.

1.    Dialogues help to move the action forward.

2.    Dialogue is the spark of life you give to your characters.

3.    Are they crisp, or are they long?

4.   “He said, she said, they said” or “he says,” she says” is okay, and it should suffice.

5.    To use or not to use quotation marks in dialogue. That’s the question.

6.    Dialogues are the best way to show your characters’ feelings.

7.    Yes, feel free to use an adverb. Please make sure that it fits like a piece of a puzzle.

8.    Write dialogues, not speeches.

9.    Remember. Dialogue in a novel does not necessarily imitate real conversation. The circumstances around dialogue are different. Hence, the dialogue will be different.

10. Be careful writing dialogue that imitates voices, dialects, slang, and accents. Don’t overdo it.

11. Are dialogues set at the right moment of the novel?

12. Are they descriptive or explanatory?

13. Do the characters, through dialogue, guide the reader towards where you, the writer, want them, the reader, to go?

14. Are your dialogues happening during a flashback?

15. Show the character’s personality through dialogue.

16. Dialogue must show the character’s personality.

17. Is it historical fiction you are writing? Dialogue must be according to the times.

18. Is it a fantastic novel? Don’t confuse readers with too fantastic dialogs.

19. Dialogue must show action, tension, suspense, and momentum to create scenes in your reader’s mind. Are you, as a writer, able to create this?

20. Dialogue should be natural, flowing smoothly, and never forced.

21. How do you maintain a conversation with your characters?

22. How do they talk between them, among them?

23. What tone do you give to the conversation?

24. Are they long, winding, short, schematic, precise, sharp, and brief? Refrain from overwhelming the reader with too overcharged dialogue. Remember, it is a dialogue, not a lecture.

25. Remember that the character’s dialogue must show the speaker’s personality. Every character must speak in their tone, rhythm, and vocabulary.

As an example of what I have exposed above, I have framed below a dialogue taken at random from a chapter from my novel, The Shoplifter.