Making Dialogue Interesting to Enhance your Story
Purpose Beyond Talking
- Every exchange should do something — reveal character, advance the plot, build tension, or plant information for later. If it doesn’t, cut or rework it.
Conflict or Tension
- Good dialogue almost always has friction. Even allies interrupt, disagree, or withhold information. Small power struggles keep readers hooked.
Subtext Over Text
- Characters rarely say exactly what they feel. Imply motives or emotions beneath their words. This creates depth.
Distinct Voices
- Each character should have their own speech patterns, word choices, and rhythms. Readers should be able to know who’s speaking without tags.
Interruption and Imperfection
- Real conversations are messy. People trail off, change the subject, or misinterpret each other. Use this sparingly for realism.
Making Dialogue Relevant and an Aid to the Plot
Advance or Foreshadow
- Use dialogue to hint at future events, establish stakes, or deliver crucial information—but avoid obvious exposition dumps. Spread the info naturally.
Reinforce Character Goals
- Dialogue should reveal what characters want, what they fear, and how they manipulate others to get it.
Escalate Conflict
- Let arguments worsen, negotiations break down, or secrets slip out at just the wrong time. This propels the story.
Pair with Action
- Layer dialogue with gestures, setting, and movement. Characters doing something while talking grounds the scene and adds meaning.
Examples of Well-Written Dialogue Techniques
Example 1 – Subtext and Tension
Maya: “You’re late again.”
Jonas: “Traffic.”
Maya: “Funny, traffic didn’t stop you from making it to the bar last night.”
(We see Maya knows more than she says, Jonas avoids guilt, tension builds.)
Example 2 – Revealing Character & Advancing Plot
Detective: “Where were you around midnight?”
Suspect: “At home.”
Detective: “Alone?”
Suspect: (shrugs) “My dog can vouch for me.”
(Shows the suspect’s flippancy, hints at a murder investigation, and moves the investigation forward.)
Example 3 – Distinct Voices
Scholar: “If we proceed without calculating the vector, we risk catastrophic collapse.”
Mercenary: “Speak plain. Will it blow up or not?”
(Each character’s vocabulary and tone immediately reveal who they are.)
Example 4 – Layered Dialogue and Action
She sliced the apple cleanly in half, not looking up.
Nora: “You lied to me.”
He gripped the counter. “You weren’t supposed to find out.”
(Physical action reinforces emotional weight.)
Practical Tips
- Read it aloud. If it sounds flat or stilted, rewrite.
- Trim filler. Skip greetings and “Hi, how are you?” unless they’re ironic or plot-relevant.
- Use beats. Break up long speeches with action, reaction, or sensory detail.
- Let characters win and lose. Dialogue is dynamic. One line should shift power or reveal something new.
- Analyze writers you admire. Notice how they use rhythm, subtext, and tension.
Mystery Example Dialogue
Let’s do a short mystery scene where the dialogue does three jobs at once:
- advances the plot (a clue emerges),
- reveals character dynamics (suspect vs. investigator),
- builds tension (subtext + stakes).
Small Mystery Scene – “The Missing Watch”
Detective Rana ducked under the police tape and entered the dimly lit kitchen. Daniel sat at the table, arms crossed, eyes darting between the window and the floor.
Rana: “You called 911 at 10:13 p.m. Said the watch was missing.”
Daniel: “That’s right.”
Rana: “But the front door was locked when we arrived.”
Daniel: “I lock it automatically. Habit.”
He drums his fingers rhythmically.
Rana: “Funny. The security cam shows no one leaving. You’re sure it was stolen?”
Daniel: “Positive.”
Rana: “By who?”
Daniel: “How should I know?”
His voice rises; he leans back in the chair.
Rana: “Because you told dispatch you saw her take it.”
(A beat) Daniel’s jaw tightens.
Daniel: “I— I said maybe she did. My sister’s been desperate for cash.”
Rana: “But your sister’s been dead three months.”
Daniel’s eyes flick to the hallway; a door creaks somewhere unseen.
Daniel: “Then I guess I’m losing my mind.”
What’s Happening Here
Advancing the Plot:
- We learn about the missing watch, a security camera, and a dead sister — each piece pushes the mystery forward.
Revealing Character:
- Rana is calm, methodical, and confrontational.
- Daniel is evasive, nervous, and possibly hiding something.
Tension/Subtext:
- Dialogue hints at supernatural or psychological elements (“sister’s been dead three months”).
- Action beats (drumming fingers, jaw tightening, eyes flicking) reinforce unease.
Distinct Voices:
- Rana asks precise, clipped questions.
- Daniel answers vaguely, with rising panic.
Authors to Review for Good Dialogue
Here are a few great places to study dialogue (all are well known, so you can find copies at the library (paper or Borrowbox ) or online.
Raymond Chandler – The Big Sleep (American/British)
Why it’s good: Snappy, hard-boiled exchanges between Philip Marlowe and suspects; lots of subtext, tension, and attitude.
What to look for: Short lines, slang, characters who rarely say exactly what they mean.
Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express (English)
Why it’s good: Dialogue reveals clues and red herrings subtly. Poirot asks pointed questions; suspects dodge or mislead.
What to look for: How exposition is delivered naturally through interrogation scenes.
Gillian Flynn – Gone Girl (American)
Why it’s good: Contemporary psychological tension. Dialogue shows power dynamics shifting between characters.
What to look for: Alternating perspectives, unreliable narration bleeding into spoken exchanges.
Elmore Leonard – Get Shorty or Out of Sight (American)
Why it’s good: Fast, believable dialogue. Leonard famously said, “Leave out the part that readers tend to skip.”
What to look for: How his characters’ speech patterns instantly show who they are.
Tana French – In the Woods (American/Irish)
Why it’s good: Police procedural dialogue that feels real and character-driven.
What to look for: Conversations with emotional undertones; slow reveals of personal stakes.
How to Study Their Dialogue
- Transcribe a Short Scene. Copy out a scene’s dialogue (for your own study) without narrative beats, then mark where tension rises or falls.
- Analyze Subtext. Write down what each character really wants in the scene versus what they say.
- Examine Structure. Count how long the exchanges are, how often tags appear, and how the author breaks up speech with action.
- Imitate. Rewrite one of your own scenes in the style of that author — this helps you internalize rhythm and pacing.
