Writing Good Dialogue

[PorcheJ]

What would comics be without dialogue? Writing dialogue is a good way to tell a story. But it's also good for characters to take a breather and let readers enjoy the visuals too. What do you do to write good dialogue? What inspires you?

[silverjackie1]

I think it depends on the idea you want to show your readers, I have seen some beautiful comics with no dialogue but is the way they present the atmosphere, the character's expressions and the colors that makes them so gorgeous.

For me I always try my characters to react like normal people, I usually use the way some friends talk and reflect it in my characters. I also like how anime and manga make conversations between characters so I take most inspiration from the series I like or watch.

[surenlicious]

As a novel writer, I follow the theme of my novel to write the good stuff. Emotion is holy in my novel, and describing that and what it does to my characters (they use pathokinesis, so I'm having lots of fun here) is inspiring 24/7.

Metaphors are also incredibly important to my novel, so I pack my art full of them. My story Arc covers especially tend to be like that haha. I guess i'm in such a hapy place in my world now everything I make for it just comes easily.

[iddqd]

Good point, sometimes dialogue takes away from story, and sometimes it adds something. I find real life conversations to be a good inspiration. Of course, you need to remove all the "uhhh"s and "like"s. I try to read the dialogue out loud when I finish. If I really cringe, maybe I need to rewrite.

What about yourself, PorcheJ?

[brilliiant]

I actually keep the 'uhhhs and likes' when I can! I think it flavours the dialogue, and makes you feel like real people are talking. Obviously I don't let them be every other word, but I think it's a good way to remind your audience that your characters are supposed to be people, you know?

[PorcheJ]

Everyone has really good advice on dialogue. Thank you!

To answer your question, iddqd (and I do apologize for the late reply), I watch good movies that have real dialogue. What I mean is that they feel real and not forced. As if you're there with the characters. Real-life also plays a major role with dialogue. Listening to how others speak can very much help you in your writing. Don't make the dialogue forced, long, or boring. Instead, make it feel real and engaging.

[Zaboem]

My character dialog is the best part of my novellas. By "best," I mean it's the least terrible part. What I'm trying to say is that I know where my strengths lie.

The how is in the editing. I make about three passes of rewriting each scene. These are not just proofreads for typos but serious rewrites in which all material is potentially on the chopping block. With each paragraph, I ask myself questions like these. "Can this dialog be more emotionally impactful? Can this line serve more than one purpose? Are there shorter ways to say this so the paragraph scene is tighter? Is this character's voice distinct enough? How do I make this gag punchier?"

I can provide a work-in-progress example from my current episode of an old story that I'm updating. I can if anyone is interested. I think I got the point across though.

Sometimes the most efficient way of saying something is to not say it at all. I trust my audience to fill in some blanks. Like @silverjackie1wrote, a silent comic can be powerful.

[Pomms]

I tend to write my dialogues as if it's a scene in a movie or a play and I ask myself a couple of questions:

• What do you want to take from that specific meeting between characters?

• How will this dialogue propel the story forward?

I've found out that having these two questions answered helps me a lot when writing dialogue.