The Hell You Say...

"So, what do you know about writing dialogue?" someone asked.

"Eh. Enough to get me by, I suppose. Why?" I said.

"Well, lots of people don't know how to write good dialogue."

"Hmm. This is true, I suppose. Sort of like those who have issues with character creation."

"Kind of. Dialogue should be good, right?" they asked, a slight frown upon their face.

"Well, if you want to keep the story moving and keep the interest of people, then yes. Dialogue is a big part of writing. You don't want people to get confused when reading the dialogue," I said.

"How would they get confused?"

"Well," I paused for a moment, thinking about this. "When reading a conversation between two characters, you want it to sound effortless."

"Okay."

"You also want to make sure that the reader knows who is speaking by adding 'he said/she said'."

"I get that. What else?" they asked.

"Also make sure the conversation sounds normal. Would you write about someone who says things like, 'perchance we shall endeavor to blah blah blah'?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Well then, there you go." I said and smiled.

"But how can you tell if you have good dialogue in your story?"

"Listen to the voices in your head."

"What?"

"No, not the ones that whisper to you and tell you to hurt people," I said with a laugh. "Listen to the voices of your character. It is like a little movie or play going on in your mind. You know who is speaking at all times. But if you really want to get a good idea of the flow, read it out loud."

"Oh, good idea!"

"Lots of people have thought of that before me, so I have to give credit where it is due. I'm just repeating it all," I said.

"Good for you, for not taking credit. Can you help me create a character now?"

"Sure thing."