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reading dialogue out loud
Sometimes characters in books talk like they're reading a textbook. That's not great.
Real people interrupt, change the subject, and forget what they were going to say. The trick to writing good dialogue is reading it out loud. If you can't say it without sounding weird, your character can't either. We learn the read-out-loud test that catches stiff dialogue, and a fun exercise where you write a fight between two siblings without anyone saying what they really mean.
Textbook talk · real talk
| Textbook talk | Real talk |
|---|---|
| 'I am very angry about this' | 'You always do this' |
| 'Please pass the salt' | 'Hey — salt?' |
| 'I do not wish to go' | 'I don't want to go' |
| Everyone speaks complete sentences | People interrupt |
The read-out-loud test
- Pick a scene with dialogue.
- Read every line out loud.
- If a line feels weird to say, rewrite it.
- Add one interruption per scene.
- Add one moment where someone says nothing.
- Re-read. Notice the characters sound real now.
If you can't say it out loud without sounding weird, your character can't either. Read every line aloud. Fix the weird ones. That's how dialogue works.
— L.A. Walton, The Book Maven
From the Maven Catalog
- Kid Free eCourse — Real Talking
- Kid Master Course — Dialogue for Kids
- Kid eBook — Read It Out Loud
- Kid Toolkit — Kid Dialogue Toolkit
Read every line aloud tonight. Fix the weird ones. Add an interruption. Add a silence. The dialogue stops sounding like a textbook. The characters start sounding like people.