Talking about talking

What does speech say about a person? The language a person uses in their everyday speech can tell us a lot - it can sometimes tell us the geographical origins of a person. Queenslanders often end a sentence with 'eh?'. In N.S.W. togs are used, rather than bathers. In Queensland, cocktail franks are called cheerios. In Sydney you drink schooners, in Melbourne, pots. Dialects are extreme examples of this, although it's not a great idea to litter written dialogue with dialect - it can make the reader impatient. Dialect can often be suggested in written dialogue through the placement of words, rather than a literal rendition, a more elegant approach.

Language can indicate age, education, status and gender. If a fifty year old man uses the word 'awesome' in its current colloquial sense, this could tell us that he's a little try-hard in the popularity stakes - useful for conveying the character of an insecure teacher, for example. Or, he might be using it ironically, again, useful for conveying particular kind of person, possibly a little pedantic, perhaps a little pompous? A teenage girl who uses text speech as actual speech in dialogue belongs to a certain set. Many teenagers abhor the use of 'lol' and 'rofl' as actual words.

A writer can show shifts in status through language. A once confident phrase can become pleading - and it's repeated use can add to a scene. A phrase used by a character can also be used against them, again adding an ironic twist to a scene.

Above all, dialogue needs to sound as though it can be spoken. We never write dialogue as it is said in real life - it would be full of repetitions, pauses, filler-words and noises. Below attempts to replicate that kind of dialogue.

'I was like, um, you know, just there, when he, um - gosh did you see that? Wow, that was awesome. Yeah, well like I was saying, I was just, you know, um, hanging out...'

'Hey look at those shoes!'

'Yeah, cool. You know my mum, she's like whatshername? You know, she was, I don't know, rich or something.'

'I didn't know your mum was rich?'

'No, not my mum. You're so stupid, you know. You don't ever - anyway, it was this other bitch.'

'You just called your mum a bitch.'

'Oh piss off. You're a biach'

So, by the time you come to the end of that, the plot is lost completely!

What a writer needs to do is to create authentic-sounding dialogue that stays true to the characters. So you need to think of age, education, gender and status. You also have to direct your dialogue so it stays focused.

One of the best ways to test dialogue is to read it aloud. Can you read it without stumbling over words or phrases. Does it sound stilted? A trap for new writers is to avoid contracting verbs, but we use these contractions in our every day speech unless we want to convey a certain emphasis.

'Did you hear what I said?'

'Sorry, I wasn't listening.'

as opposed to:

'Did you hear what I said?'

'Sorry. I was not listening.'

(See how I've emphasised the tone change in the second example by putting a full stop after the word 'sorry'.)

The other tip I'd like to give here is not to over-use dialogue tags. We've all read articles or stories where dialogue tags have been over-used and come away with a feeling that no one in them actually said anything. Characters whimpered, screamed, considered, pondered, wept, sobbed, sighed, whispered, shrieked, wailed and even cogitated but never once said anything. Your dialogue should indicate to the reader how your character is talking. Dialogue tags should be used sparingly - that way they retain their power. To avoid over-using 'said' - allow the proper placement of dialogue on the page and enough observations between lines of dialogue to indicate to the reader who is speaking.

'I don't know what you're talking about.' Michael was bored with the conversation. He glanced at his watch. Ten minutes! They'd been talking around the same topic for ten minutes. Unbelievable.

'I just think you take me for granted. You're not even listening to me now. Look at you, checking the time. Do you even know how often you do that?'

God. She had that look. Honestly, he loved Lara. But after she'd been with that mother of hers she was impossible. 'Honey?' He tested the word but Lara shook her head stubbornly.

'What did I say, then?' she asked.

'That I don't respect you.' he said.

'And?'

'That I take you for granted.'

Of course, the best way to study dialogue is to go forth into the world and eavesdrop! Good luck.