Including dialogue in a novel can be daunting but it can add an interesting and exciting new dimension to a story. This is a basic introduction to some of the main points to remember when adding dialogue to a written piece.

Keep it simple and use no more than two characters. Ensure the personality of each character has been well thought through before beginning. If they are well educated, they might use sophisticated language. If they are young, they might use slang. If they are inebriated, they might slur their words. All these things affect the way characters interact with each other using dialogue.

Try to ensure the characters have something to say that adds to the story. Don't engage in meaningless dialogue just for the sake of it. Use dialogue to take the story forward, enhance the emotion of the scene or to develop the personality of a character. It is important to make sure that the dialogue contributes to the story. The following is a simple example of dialogue:

Jake slumped down in the armchair and sighed. "Mary's taken the baby and left me."

"It's about time," said his father, angrily. "You're no good for her."

"I didn't cheat on her."

"Yes, you did. I saw you."

In the first line, we introduce a forlorn Jake and learn that Mary has left him, taking the baby with her. 'Jake slumped down in the armchair' is a beat. It is used to describe what is happening and introduces a character who has spoken. In the second line, we introduce Jake's father. He also adds useful information to the story. We know he is annoyed because we describe him as being angry. He also informs us that Jake isn't a very good father. In the third line, Jake denies doing anything wrong. However, because Jake's father thinks Jake is no good, we now suspect Jake can't be trusted. In the fourth line, we learn that Jake's father knows his son cheated on Mary because he saw him do it. It is now confirmed to us that Jake is definitely untrustworthy.

The last two lines of dialogue do not indicate who is speaking. However, this is dialogue between two people who have already been introduced so we know who they are. We don't need to add a tag e.g. 'Jake said'. By adding a tag, the writing becomes clumsy. A tag in this instance does not add anything to the narrative.

Four simple lines of dialogue can impart a huge amount of information and bring a plot line along very rapidly. It is possible to spend a whole page describing this scene but the dialogue does it in four lines. To become an accomplished writer of dialogue takes practice. Begin by reading books by authors who use dialogue a lot such as Judy Blume, John Steinbeck and Sinclair Lewis.

When writing a piece of dialogue, read it back out loud. Does it flow smoothly and sound right? If not, rewrite it until it does. Remember to use the correct punctuation, start a new paragraph for each new speaker and use quote marks to show a character is talking. Lastly, don't use too much slang or local dialect since it can make dialogue hard work to read. These are just some of the ways to learn how to write dialogue.