What Is Dialogue?

Dialogue is conversation or a piece of written work in conversational form. When writers create characters it is important that every character has a distinctive voice. When writing dialogue it is important that the voice for each character remains consistent and believable. The choice of word used in written dialogue will help readers picture the character and give them clues as to the character's age, class, education, first language, personality and state of mind. Speech is different from written prose. When we talk we often repeat ourselves. We frequently fail to end our sentences and few of us speak in ways which are grammatically correct. We use words such as "thingy" and "Oi". Many of us throw in extra words which are often repeated, particularly if we swear. We stray off the point, forget names and rely on the other person to fill in blanks. A writer has to create authentic voices but also has to keep the reader engaged. This means that it is unwise to write speech just as you hear it in the street. Most of us take longer to say what we mean than you have space for in a short story or screenplay. The magic lies in creating similar patterns of speech to those you hear in real life but editing enough to keep the story moving and hold the reader's attention.