D is for Dialogue

Yes, I know I said I'd post this yesterday, but I got home so late last night, there wasn't time :I

Onto the dialogue:

The first thing you must know about dialogue: It is not the same as how a person really speaks. It's supposed to mimic it. It's supposed to give the impression of real speech.

Dialogue shows character. If one of your characters is, say a successful banker from a wealthy background, they are not going to speak in the same way as a street urchin.
Where your character comes from is important in dialogue. Characters from the same place are likely to have the same accent, and use the same sayings.
On top of all that, the character's personality has a huge impact on what they say. If they are quite shy, they are likely to say little, if anything at all. In contrast, someone who is bossy will probably give orders, and then expect them to be done (and get upset if they aren't)

All dialogue must have a purpose. Your characters can't just have a random conversation halfway through a scene;  they've got to come to an agreement (or a disagreement) or discover something new about the other character. Sometimes dialogue can describe the setting, such as the weather, or give a little exposition (but only in small amounts). But overall, dialogue must always move the plot forward.

If your characters are having a very important conversation, and it's getting a little boring or repetitive, try getting your characters to do something during the conversation. In real life, people don't just sit down an talk. They lounge in their chair, get up and pace around the room, fiddle with their pencil, leave the room to continue the conversation somewhere else, yell at each other during a gunfight...characters do stuff.

But, of course, another very important thing about dialogue is: sometimes it not what a character does say, it's what they don't.

I hope this has given you a little insight on how to write dialogue :)

The next post will be E is for Exposition.