Dialogue?

[Phoenix]

Hello everyone I was writing when I started a dialogue scene. I just can't write dialogue well and can't get the right words in. I know this is short, but do you guys have any tip on how to make dialogue flow well?

 

[sashamerideth]

Read it out loud. That is my first go to idea. Also remember dialog in a novel is not the same as what we speak when we are with other people. Fewer of the repetitive affectations, but more distinct speech so you can tell who is speaking without the dialog tags.

Learn about dialog beats too, interjecting what they are doing with what they are saying.

 

[San Cidolfus]

Getting dialogue to flow naturally is a skill that takes much time and effort to improve. It's not easy to say what works and what doesn't, because we have a subconscious affinity for what's natural and what's stilted. Reading your dialogue out loud is a fine way to test whether or not it sounds real, but as for advice on making it sound genuine in the first place?

I guess I could say the more you treat your characters like real people, the more likely they are to talk to each other like real people.

Maybe that isn't much help, but crafting genuine dialogue is a slippery thing. Practice, practice, practice, my friend. That's all I can say.

 

[Devor]

If it's a real conversation between characters, I write the dialogue first and then go back to fill in the narration. I find it helps me to scope and pace the conversation without worrying about anything else.

 

[TWErvin2]

Dialogue is a balance between what real conversation is and the needs of a story for clarity and coherence. This is because so much communication is nonverbal, and that is very difficult to relay through text in a novel.

A few thoughts:
First, determine the purpose of the dialogue. Why is it there? Does it move the plot forward, and if so, how?
Get the basics of the dialogue down (written). Then go back and tweak for voice, proper word usage by the characters, flow, things like that.
Put some movement, action, something going on besides talking when possible.


As has been said, read it aloud, practice and refine.

Good luck. It can be hard work but worth it in the end.