I've found that observing real life conversations have helped me write better dialogue, as well as reading all kinds of books.
I'm returning to the character Brenda from G-Town in Philly. Remember, Brenda feels that there's something odd going on in her neighborhood. She's determined to find out what the whispers are about.
Let's take a look.
Brenda tapped on Ms. Jannie's door, and faked a smile. "Ms. Jannie, hey, have you noticed anything odd lately?"
Ms. Jannie furrowed her brows. "Odd, what do you mean Brenda?"
"The, um, rumors that there's some hidden secret in G-Town," Brenda mumbled, rolled her eyes around as if someone might over-hear. "Know anything about it?"
Ms. Jannie paused, smiled, "Like the waves of a flowing ocean, secrets flow through lives carving impressions on them."
Brenda jumped off the porch, excited and determined to dig up the mysteries lurking on the down-low of her seemingly ordinary G-Town. The chat with Ms. Jannie confirmed her suspicions, even though she didn't understand Ms. Jannie's weird sayings.
I'll stop there with Brenda.
It's time to explain what else is important about writing dialogue.
It's important to use language that feels natural and reflects how people speak. A character, for example, shouldn't be too formal. Unless, it's part of the character or setting.
Sentences are varied in length and structure within dialogue. Why? Repetition is removed while excitement beams.
Avoid at all cost using dialogue as the tool to pour too much information into a scene. Revealing is stirred slowly into a conversation.
Finally, we come to the editing process. It's important to read aloud. Why? It pin-points awkward phrasing, words that just don't fit, or where dialogue shouldn't be used.
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