We all know the advice about dialog – your characters should all sound different, only say what needs to be said, use ‘said’ rather than other tags, and so on. Yes, these ideas can put you on the right track but they don’t consider characterization, subtext, ‘proper’ punctuation and so on. So, let’s go over the 7 rules of dialog and then discuss what you should do instead.

Rule 1: Keep Your Dialog On Topic

In the real world, nobody really talks smoothly, even when they rehearsed everything they say. We talk in mumbles, grunts, murmurs and so on, as we try to get our thoughts together. We stumble over something, stop and pull ourselves together. We stop and think. We go back on ourselves. We go off on tangents and then we come back to our point.

We often hear it said that dialog in a book doesn’t do this or shouldn’t but that’s not right. A tangent can show up some trait that may not have come to light yet. If your dialog is straight and focused, it gets predictable and readers don’t do predictable. They want motivation, unique, quirky and texture. Answers to questions don’t always stay on topic:

“Why is it so hot out here?”

“It’s meant to reach 90 today. Hey, do you fancy a cold beer?”

“90? Why did I ever leave Maine?”

“90 isn’t that bad. So, that beer?”

There are several conversations going on here, each overlapping, each revealing a little more about the character. Your dialog shouldn’t always be like this but it doesn’t hurt, so long as it shows the characters' goals, is in context or has a subtext that matches the scene. Romantic tension scenes will often consist of dialog that is nothing more than banter; it's what goes on underneath that tells the real story.

However, you shouldn’t use subtext for all dialog. Pick and choose and keep most of the dialog as WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Use digression to put a red herring in place, reveal a clue or two about character motivation or add a bit of dramatization.

Rule 2: Dialog Should Be Used as You Would Use Real Speech

In real life, we tend to speak as a way of giving information; where fiction is concerned, the dialog isn’t just about expressing something, it's also about overcoming something. When you write, instead of asking yourself what the character needs to be saying, try asking what they need to accomplish. Look at these two scenarios:

A man wants to talk to his wife about her overspending but she wants to watch the television.

The police are talking to a murder suspect but he keeps evading their questions.

The goals in both scenarios create some kind of tension that has an effect on the way the dialog will go.  When you write the response of your character to some kind of stimuli, keep in mind that their agenda will take precedence over the conversation topic.

Words can be used as knives, as jewels, but they should never be used as marshmallows that do nothing but bounce back and forth. Each of your characters must have a goal, be it seduction, misguidance, impression, entertainment; whatever it is, the agenda will dictate the shape of the dialog.