Link to article: Talk It Out - A Guide on Writing Dialogue.
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[[>]] [[module Rate]] [[/>]] @@ @@ [[toc]] @@ @@ @@ @@ [[=]] + Talk it Out - A Guide on Writing Dialogue [[/=]] [[div class="blockquote"]] //[Agent Sanderson rushes into Director Rainy's office. Dir. Rainy jumps, startled. Sanderson bounces back and forth on their feet.]// **Sanderson:** Guess what, chief? **Dir. Rainy:** Jesus Sanderson will you //please// knock? **Sanderson:** Come on, chief, you gotta guess what! **Dir. Rainy:** What?! What could you possibly want?! //[Sanderson puffs out their chest with pride.]// **Sanderson:** //I'm// gonna write a short story about the Foundation! **Dir. Rainy:** Ah... alright? //[Sanderson visibly deflates.]// **Dir. Rainy:** Sorry why are you telling me? **Sanderson:** Well I thought you'd think it was cool, and that you'd maybe possibly help me with the dialogue...? [[/div]] ------ Dialogue. It's been a key component of the SCP format since the early days. While our beloved SCP-173 didn't have any notable lines of dialogue, many of the most famous articles from back in the day have notable interview logs containing everything from 'witty' banter to chilling messages from eldritch horrors. Despite how long dialogue has been a fundamental part of the format, however, dialogue remains a sincere challenge for most authors both new and experienced. Some people LOVE writing dialogue, and that's great! In my opinion, dialogue is one of the best parts of writing! That said, just because you love to write it doesn't mean people are gonna love reading it. When your work has people talking in it, that dialogue needs to be good. Without solid dialogue, even the best plot will fall flat. If your dialogue is bad, your audience //will// leave and read something else. So how do you fix it? How do you write good dialogue? Hell if I know. OK OK PLEASE DON'T LEAVE JUST YET! The truth is that there's no magic answer to good or great dialogue, it's all subjective in the end. That being said, I've spent a lot of my time on site thinking about dialogue and how to make it seem natural. The tips and tricks I'll provide in this guide are things that I've found success with, but none of them are universal. Give them a shot, but know there's always a chance that they may not work for you and that's ok! This will probably be a decently long guide, so please use the Table of Contents liberally to hop to the spot that best suits your needs. Keep in mind, **this guide is written with SCP writing in mind.** Kick back, relax, and let's chat. ------ [[=]] +++ Basic Dialogue Rules [[/=]] So advanced warning, most of the resources on dialogue you'll find online are focused on //prose-based//[[footnote]]Dialogue based in traditional written prose, like the kind you'd see in a book.[[/footnote]] dialogue. While those online guides and resources are great for tales, which tend to be prose-based, SCP dialogue is actually closer to //script-based// writing. That means the types of interactions you're writing in an interview or exploration log are going to be closer to what a script for the stage or a screenplay look like. As a result, the basic rules look different. # **Start with a character cue.** A character cue is the bold name in a log that indicates who's speaking. All of your dialogue should start with this so it's always clear who's talking. # **Put physical actions on a separate line.** Nothing breaks up dialogue flow in an article like seeing an action in the middle of spoken dialogue. You will see articles on site that do this- they are wrong. If an action interrupts someone talking, it should still be separate from the dialogue. This isn't roleplay- it's writing. # **No he said, she said.** This isn't prose, so we don't include statements like "he said", "she spoke", or "they ejaculated". The way someone is talking will be conveyed through any actions you describe, and we'll talk about those later on. When in doubt, look at popular articles and mirror how they format their logs. SCP authors thrive on stealing CSS from each other, so don't be afraid to snatch some fancy formatting if it stands out to you. ------ [[=]] +++ Say it Out Loud [[/=]] You've definitely heard this tip before, which is why it's the first one here. The most common advice I find myself giving new authors for dialogue is "read it out loud", but what does that actually mean in practice? What should you be looking for? Remember that as your audience reads through your article, they're going to be reading it "out loud" in their heads. They're going to be hearing all of those pretty words of yours as if real people are saying them. To help ensure things are sounding the way you want, the best way to do it is to take a moment to say it out loud yourself. When reading it out loud, your dialogue should sound like something someone would say in real life. **Dialogue can be a bit cheesy, //that's ok//!**[[footnote]]That said, you aren't writing a Marvel movie. You shouldn't have your characters spouting endless one-liners.[[/footnote]] We'll get into more detail on this later, but the short version is that written dialogue serves a different purpose than real life talking. Don't focus entirely on if it sounds cheesy or not, focus more on if it feels like something someone would //actually// say. If it feels awkward to say or unnatural, something's probably wrong! As you read, focus on the following- # **Do you find yourself emphasizing certain words?** If that's the case, some extra formatting would be helpful. **Bolding** or //italicizing// your text will help properly emphasize the words you want. # **Do you find yourself pausing in certain places?** Consider adding a comma in those spots so that the reader reads with the same cadence you're speaking with. # **Are you saying it fluently, or are you stumbling over yourself?** If you're stumbling and that's not the intent, then take a look at the spot you're stumbling and consider rewriting it to be clearer. # **Do you like how it sounds?** This is obvious, I know, but if you as the author don't like how it sounds, then that's a sign to change something. Beyond the above, reading your entire article aloud can also help you catch spelling and grammar issues or general odd/awkward phrasing. I do recommend reading the whole thing like this if you have the time! Biggest thing to take away here is watching for natural stops and pauses in your speech, and using those as a chance to potentially break up dialogue between characters/actions. ------ [[=]] +++ Dialogue is Intentional [[/=]] Dialogue in writing serves a specific purpose. Dialogue in writing is not meant to reflect entire real world conversations. That means you don't need to fill it with fluff that doesn't serve a clear narrative purpose. Your dialogue should focus on moving the scene forward, whatever that scene may be. Try blocking out your scene to get an idea of what //needs// to happen in it, and focus your dialogue around reaching that goal. Here's an example-- [[div class="blockquote"]] A Foundation agent has gone back in time to the moment his wife left. He relives the scene, trying to change something about it in order to get her to stay. Despite his best efforts, she winds up leaving anyway. Scene needs to establish the conflict between the two characters, as well as establish their basic approach to the relationship. Schafford is ignorant to the deeper issues, and Maria is fed up with trying to get him to see them. ------ //[Agent Schafford appears in the kitchen of his apartment. A woman with long, black hair sits at the kitchen table with her head in her hands. She's been crying.]// **Schafford:** Maria! //[The woman doesn't acknowledge him.]// **Schafford:** Maria, come on. It's me, Andy... //[She continues to be unresponsive.]// **Schafford:** Come on, Maria, just hear me out. I'm going to get it right this time, I just- **Maria:** 'This time?' I've given you so many chances, Andy. I've tried so hard to be here, to be //present// for you all this time and //now// you think you're going to 'get it right?' **Schafford:** I'm here right? And I'm talking to you, yeah? Isn't... isn't that what you wanted? **Maria:** …I don't know what I want from you anymore. I really, truly don't. I keep thinking, you know? Thinking that maybe something will change, that you'll actually sit down and self-reflect a bit, but here we are. **Schafford:** Here we are. Isn't that enough? //[Maria takes a shuddering breath.]// **Maria:** It's not. Not anymore. //[She stands, grabbing a bag from the corner.]// **Maria:** I can't keep trying to go on like I'm ok. Like we're ok. I hope someday you can realize you need help too. **Schafford:** Maria come on, I'm trying here. I'm really fucking trying, so please- **Maria:** I'm //tired//, Andy. I'm tired of trying. //[She leaves. Schafford starts to follow her, but stops himself at the threshold of the kitchen. He looks down at SCP-XXXX in his hand, turning it over.]// [[/div]] All of the dialogue in this scene is intentional. The conversation focus is designed to not only establish and develop the conflict of the scene, but also establish the emotional states of the characters. Take another look at it, and see what you notice. Can you tell what kind of person Schafford probably is? Maria? If the answer is yes, that means the dialogue succeeded in what it set out to do. What you will and won't consider "fluff" will depend on you as an author. There are authors where greetings and farewells are fluff and get cut, but there are also plenty of authors where those become helpful for establishing a character. Just remember-- your dialogue should be moving your scene along or providing new information of some kind to your reader. If you're repeating old info, or the scene isn't moving, you've got fluff to cut out. Simply put, sometimes **less is more**. Good dialogue is clear and intentional-- cut out the unnecessary bits so that what's left is the stuff that matters and helps move your story forward in some way. While "how's the weather today?" can characterize someone, chances are good what you're writing doesn't need this. It all comes down to planning. If you don't already outline your articles, I really suggest you start! ------ [[=]] +++ Characterization, or How to Make a Silly Little Guy [[/=]] Dialogue is spoken by characters. I know, shocking revelations only. The real challenge with writing dialogue is less //what's// being said, but more //how// it's being said, and that how is informed entirely by //who// is saying it. Everyone has their own manner of talking informed by their personality, their ambitions, where they were raised, etc. No two people talk exactly alike, much like how no two people write exactly alike. Being able to capture and highlight these differences in an authentic way is key to making dialogue feel real //and// making your characters more memorable. My first tip for this is **pay attention to how people talk.** More specifically, listen to how people talk irl. Listen to their word choices, the cadence they speak with, and so on. There's nothing wrong with basing your characters on real people and using their speech patterns as inspiration. Now, what I'm //not// saying is to literally include speech quirks. **You do not need to write accents phonetically or write out a stutter exactly how it would sound irl.** Your writing should be readable above all else, which means capturing quirks in a way that's //authentic// but not //obtrusive//. Here are a few examples of what this might look like in action-- > Hey, I find writing dialogue pretty fun actually! > Woah now, I find writin' dialogue's fun actually! > Oi! I think writing dialogue's fun, actually! > Yeah. Writing dialogue? It's fun, actually. Notice how despite being the same basic idea, each of the above lines reads totally differently due to the word choice and vocal quirks present. You may have even been able to get a mental image of some of the people talking just from the words used. So how do you actually make this happen? Well, the easiest way is to list out key info on your characters first and see how that might inform how they talk or how they react to things. If they're from a certain region of the world, they may include more local slang and expressions into their speech. If they're a hothead, they're going to react to things differently than someone who is cool and collected. These details help keep your characters from running together. This is part of why I said don't be afraid to have dialogue sound a little cheesy sometimes. Sometimes people just talk that way! Sometimes a character is BIG and LOUD, and that's ok because you as the great author you are have established that as their speech pattern. For example, the character Carteckan in [[[SCP-7999]]] does //not// follow natural speech patterns. When designing Carteckan, I was following a very specific set of rules-- * Carteckan cannot use gendered pronouns * Carteckan cannot use contractions * Carteckan is easily fascinated by Earth There were more, but these are the most obvious ones in the text itself. These came together to create Carteckan's speech pattern, which while not necessarily //natural// felt //realistic// in the text. I recommend creating a similar short list of rules for your own notable characters to help establish their own voices. Eventually you'll reach a point where you can write their dialogue without thinking because you //know// them, you know that voice! Verbosity, or a lack thereof, is another way to establish character voice. Is your character the type of person to talk in long, detailed sentences? Maybe they're quick and to the point. Perhaps they talk in quick! Excited! Sentences! Thinking about how your character talks and how long they talk for is a fantastic way to ensure their voice is unique, clear, and consistent. You can also play with it too to create certain moods and effects. For example, maybe your scientist who's normally very detailed finds something that excites her and suddenly she's speaking in shorter, less verbose sentences! Something else worth remembering, **people shift their register when they talk to different people.** What that means is that people change how they talk to match the situation, and what that looks like can also help define a character! Think about it this way-- typically speaking, do people talk to their boss the same way as they talk to their best friend? Normally, no. When speaking to someone in a position of authority, typically people will use a formal register and use more "professional" vocabulary, while with a best friend they'll use a more casual register. This change in register (or lack thereof!) can inform the audience a ton on the character in question. How //other// people talk with your character can do the same, too! For example, a woman who gets everyone around her speaking in a formal register is going to read like a #girlboss that commands the room. Honor the relationship between your characters, and use your dialogue to highlight those dynamics These are the finer things to think about with dialogue, details that help establish scenes and characters in a more nuanced way. ------ [[=]] +++ Physicality as Dialogue [[/=]] Hey did you know you can speak without ever opening your mouth? It's true, and I don't mean through sign language! One of the most common bits of critique you'll see someone hand out is "show don't tell", but what does it actually //mean//? In practice, it means something different to everyone, but the basic idea behind it is to let the readers figure out things on their own without explicitly telling them. In dialogue, this is the difference between having a character shout "That makes me angry!" and simply having them huff and cross their arms. Physical actions go hand in hand with dialogue, and your scenes will become more engaging for the reader when you can bring them to life with actions. Remember, characters can't be a bunch of talking heads. There should be something else going on in the scene that helps us better understand how people are talking to each other. See these examples-- > **Reyes:** It's fine. > > //[Agent Reyes crosses his arms with a stern expression, sighing.]// > **Scarlett:** It's fine. > > //[Agent Scarlett attempts to smile as her nose scrunches up in disgust.]// > **Henderson:** It's fine. > > //[Agent Henderson spins on the heel of his foot and leaves with a slight skip.]// Notice how the physical action being described suddenly changes how you read the spoken dialogue. Agent Reyes now reads as gruff and displeased, Agent Scarlett reads as someone trying to keep her cool but can quite hide disgust, and Agent Henderson seems happy and joyful. The goal of logs, be they interview logs or exploration logs, is to paint a scene for the reader. Think about what your characters are doing in the scene, how they're carrying themselves and how they interact with things. Go beyond obvious actions like "walking", "bending", "picking things up", and start thinking about body language. Think about how your nervous character is shaking, how their muscles are tight and their movements stiff and slow. Think about how your confident character moves with ease with a straight back and puffed out chest. These details, especially when presented early in a text, inform your readers what voice your character has in their head. Remember the Three Beat Rule? This is a great chance to bring it back. Once you find your beats, you also find moments to insert physicality. Use your three or so beats, and then take a moment to show the reader how the character said it. Remember, in an SCP we don't have "he said" or "she said", so show your readers how it was said with the character's actions. //That's// show don't tell! Now be careful- don't go overboard with physical descriptions. They have a time and place, and overuse can kill the flow of your dialogue. If your dialogue is better served by letting the characters simply talk back and forth or there isn't a lot of interesting or insightful physicality going on, it's totally fine to just let the conversation happen. Do what feels natural, and if you're really stuck, read other articles to see how they did it. ------ [[=]] +++ Child Characters [[/=]] Nearly every author you'll speak to around the wiki will tell you that writing children in a believable way is //hard//. Children are so easy to flatten into 2D caricatures, physical embodiments of tropes so well worn and tired that they need to be taken out back and shot. To be blunt, most authors are not around children often enough to get their voices right, and as a result they lean into the vague idea of children that they have in their heads. Here are some quick tips for you to get your kiddos right-- **DON'T MAKE YOUR KIDS CUTESY.** If you want your audience to care about your child character, you need to make that come as a natural result of their personality and //not// via dialogue quirks. No baby talk, no "aw gee mister", none of it. Kids don't talk like that, and trying to force cutesiness is going to do little beyond making your audience groan. **Kids are not brilliant sages.** We've all seen the twitter posts before where someone talks about how their dear little Mackaylieghynn has dropped wisdom beyond her time on the human condition, and we all understand these are fake as hell. That said, **kids are not idiots either.** People often swing in the opposite direction when writing kids, especially young ones, but kids are //not// stupid nor ignorant of the world around them. Kids see the world around them and are working to understand it, same as you or me. Even if they don't understand something, their brains are working away trying to comprehend it and explain it. What they don't understand, they'll often ask questions about. Sometimes you'll even be surprised by what they do understand, even if they don't have the vocabulary to explain it. Speaking of vocabulary... **Children have limited vocabulary.** What this means is that depending on the age of your child character, they have a less words to describe the world around them than an adult does. Think about what that might look like based on the background of your character, and think about how that limited vocabulary works in dialogue. For example, when I was a kid I didn't know the word "saliva", but I knew "mouth" and "water". For me, saliva was "mouth water" until I learned the real word. Kids will use the language they have to describe their world, and that might mean describing things as literally as possible with simpler words rather than using a proper title. **The older your kid, the more they can say.** This goes with the above. Kids pick up words as they grow up from the world around them. Your older characters will have the ability to more eloquently and verbosely describe themselves. Where a toddler may throw a bowl to express their anger because words can't, a teenager is more likely to be able to tell you why they're stomping around pissed off once they calm down. **Kids speak without thinking.** Teenagers too (yes, that means you 16 year old reading this before you can join the site). The younger you are, the less you understand social appropriateness. Young kids are more likely to ask a question that an adult would consider inappropriate, or simply speak their thoughts with no filter. Teenagers are more likely to make a careless joke they think is funny without thinking about who it might hurt. **Kids are still people with their own thoughts, feelings, and goals.** People often see "child character" and think they need to be simplistic, but this couldn't be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that kids are people too, and like any other character they're informed by their own thoughts and feelings. Those thoughts may be simpler, and their goal may just be "get the loud man to stop talking", but these still inform the things they say. ------ [[=]] +++ Practice Prompts [[/=]] Here's a set of practice writing prompts to help you get the dialogue going. Before writing a prompt, consider the following-- # Who are your characters? # What's their relationship to one another? # What do your characters want in each scene? # What are your characters' moods? How are they reflected in body language? # Do your characters have any vocal quirks? With what you've read in mind, give the following a shot! * A rookie agent was explicitly told by their superior not to touch an anomaly. Now the two are trapped in a small room together trying to escape. * One half of a couple hits their partner with the dreaded "we need to talk". * An established scientist decides to try and share their knowledge with the new hire, only to find out the new hire knows more than they expected. * An agent is interrogating a GOI member for information on the location of an anomaly. * A therapist is trying to get a difficult client to open up about their life. * A researcher is trying to present their research findings to the rest of their department, but no one else seems to care. * The O5 council is holding a meeting on what to do with a strange box they've received. * A researcher is trying to get a humanoid anomaly to trust them after it's been contained. * The Foundation has decided to contain an anomalous child. A researcher tries their best to gain the kid's trust. * An agent stumbles across a seemingly impossibly old man who hasn't had anyone to talk to in a very long time. ------ [[=]] +++ Reading Recommendations [[/=]] The following articles are well regarded for compelling, memorable, or generally high quality dialogue. These range from deeply profound to silly fun, and I recommend taking a look at them to get a feel for how you could approach dialogue. [[=]] [[[SCP-5002]]] [[/=]] SCP-5002 is a murder mystery. It presents a large cast of characters, and serves as an example of how individual motivations, thoughts, and feelings inform how they speak and react in difficult situations. [[=]] [[[SCP-6001]]] [[/=]] SCP-6001 is an example of how you can craft a compelling relationship between two characters, and how dialogue can show off character dynamics. [[=]] [[[SCP-7000]]] [[/=]] SCP-7000 is a long article that shows how a character's background and experiences informs how they talk. [[=]] [[[SCP-5005]]] [[/=]] SCP-5005 is an example of longer dialogue exchanges where characters almost monologue to one another. It shows how to do more "slice in time" type dialogue. [[=]] [[[SCP-7005]]] [[/=]] SCP-7005 is an example of showing character motivations and drives through dialogue. [[=]] [[[SCP-7999]]] [[/=]] Hey I'm allowed to show one of my own off. SCP-7999 is an example of how to use vocal quirks to establish a unique character voice. [[=]] [[[SCP-5470]]] [[/=]] SCP-5470 is a //very// strong example of showcasing unique character backgrounds through spoken dialogue, as well as showcasing character reactions under stress. [[=]] [[[SCP-2337]]] [[/=]] SCP-2337 is an example of using vocal quirks for comedy, and showcasing how to make less "realistic" dialogue work. [[=]] [[[SCP-5304]]] [[/=]] SCP-5304 is an example of dialogue to highlight dynamics between characters, as well as how to establish unique voices in a large group. [[=]] [[[SCP-6599]]] [[/=]] SCP-6599 is another strong example of using unique character voices for comedy. Thanks for reading, and good luck! If you ever have any questions, don't be afraid to reach out. I'm always down to talk about how people talk!