Great dialogue grabs readers and pulls them deeper into your story by showcasing real emotion, adding depth to your characters, and driving the plot forward.
In this Reedsy Live session, dialogue expert Katie Seaman explores the craft of writing compelling exchanges that serve your story. From mastering the fundamentals to creating distinct character voices, you’ll learn the essential techniques that bring flat conversations to life in the minds of your readers.
This post summarizes Katie Seaman’s masterclass on crafting effective dialogue. To hear her go into more detail about each technique, you can click on the timestamps featured below.
The fundamentals of dialogue, and why it matters (07:43)
As Stephen King once said, "Writing good dialogue is art as well as craft." And, like any craft, you’ll have to learn the basics first — don’t run before you can walk!
First, remember that dialogue shouldn’t be identical to real-life. While you want your characters' speech to reflect how people actually talk, super-realistic dialogue might not always be the most engaging for readers. Think of characters constantly greeting each other or asking "How are you?" — these mundane exchanges slow your pacing without adding much value.
An absolute essential is to use quotation marks to signal speech. While notable exceptions like Sally Rooney do exist, quotation marks make dialogue immediately recognizable and help readers follow conversations with ease.
Start each new speaker on a separate line to create a script-like format that's easy to scan. Here’s an example, from The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold:
“You're not the first to go through this, you know.”
“I know.”
“You think I don't know how this feels?”
“No, you don't know how it feels! Your wife did not die!”
'”My son did! He was four years old! You're right, you're not the same. But you can take some comfort in that.”
Dialogue tags (e.g. “He said, she said”) clarify who's speaking and can reflect intonation, while body language and action beats (brief descriptions of a character’s movements) make exchanges feel dynamic and natural. Dialogue functions like a tennis match, with action and reaction flowing back and forth. Avoid having characters deliver long, excessive monologues; instead, ensure someone is there to bounce off, creating authentic reactions that propel the conversation forward.
Fitting dialogue to your story’s tone (11:15)
Aligning your dialogue with the tone and setting of your book is crucial for worldbuilding. If you aren’t quite sure what we mean here, just imagine if Bilbo Baggins spoke like an East Londoner. It wouldn’t feel quite the same, would it?
Julia Quinn's Bridgerton series is a great example of this — the references to societal obligations, speech patterns, and rhythm immediately signal historical fiction, even without a cover or title to guide you:
A look of amusement crossed Simon's features. "I take it, then, that during my time abroad you have become something of an eligible gentleman?"
"Not out of any aspirations to the role on my part, I assure you. If it were up to me, I'd avoid society functions like the plague. But my sister made a bow last year, and I'm forced to escort her from time to time".
This principle applies across all genres. Whether you're writing contemporary romance, science fiction, or literary fiction, your characters' speech should feel appropriate to their world. The language choices, cadence, and vocabulary all work together to ground readers in your story's specific time and place, making the fictional world feel authentic and lived-in.
Using dialogue to advance the plot and convey emotion (12:35)
Dialogue should always serve a purpose — never include it as filler. David Nicholls, who started as an actor and worked extensively as a screenwriter, demonstrates gold-standard dialogue in his novel One Day:
"What's up?" He asked.
"Nothing. Oh, nothing. Just…" She looked up at him. "I thought I'd finally got rid of you."
"I don't think you can," he said.
His conversations move the story forward while revealing character dynamics. Nicholls uses simple language and natural hesitations (e.g. an ellipses showing Emma pausing before looking up at Dexter) to reflect body language. Most importantly, his dialogue works to propel the plot forward by deepening romantic tension between the two characters.
Beyond plot advancement, dialogue also has to convey emotion. You can use em dashes or ellipses to show hesitation, and pauses that reveal characters struggling to voice difficult feelings. Sometimes less really is more — powerful dialogue can convey relatable emotions in a subtle way, helping readers understand the depth of characters' feelings and their shared backstory without excessive explanation.
Differentiating characters within dialogue (15:25)
Every character needs a distinct voice. Readers shouldn't struggle to identify who's speaking based on dialogue alone. Charles Dickens perfected this technique, populating his novels with larger-than-life characters from various social classes. In Oliver Twist, the Artful Dodger's Cockney slang and lively bounce immediately contrasts with Oliver's formal, quieter speech, establishing their different backgrounds and personalities:
“Hullo, my covey! What’s the row?” Said the strange young gentleman to Oliver.
"I am very hungry and tired," replied Oliver: the tears standing in his eyes as he spoke. "I have walked a long way. I've been walking this seven days.”
“Walking for sivin days!” said the young gentleman. “Oh, I see. Beak’s order, eh? But,” he added, noticing Oliver’s look of surprise, “I suppose you don’t know what a beak is, my flash com-pan-i-on.”
Oliver mildly replied, that he had always heard a bird's mouth described by the term question.
The misunderstanding when Dodger mentions a "beak" (magistrate) and Oliver thinks of a bird reveals Oliver's naivety versus Dodger's street smarts — all through dialogue.
Reading between the lines (18:12)
The most sophisticated dialogue incorporates subtext, where meaning lies beneath the words spoken. Sally Thorne's The Hating Game excels here:
"You guys have a weird dynamic going on."
"There's no dynamic. No dynamic." I begin swinging at my coffee. It's too hot and a terrible idea.
"But you know he's in love with you, right?"
I inhale my huge mouthful and begin to drown on dry land.
When Lucy denies anything is happening between her and Josh, her actions — swigging her coffee nervously and feeling too hot — betray her true feelings. The subtext hints at emotions she won't acknowledge. In romance, this builds intrigue and chemistry; in crime thrillers, it deepens mystery and foreshadows revelations. What characters don't say often matters just as much as what they do — mirroring real life interactions.
Editing your dialogue & using dialogue tags (24:19)
Writing effective dialogue in a first draft is challenging — you'll often overwrite or slip into filler while finding your way. But don’t worry, that’s what the editing process is for!
After completing your draft, highlight all the dialogue in your manuscript. This visual technique immediately reveals imbalances: long chunks of unbroken speech, one character monopolizing conversations, or excessive back-and-forth without breathing room. If you see dialogue appearing as solid blocks of text, break it up using dialogue tags, reactions, or action beats from either the speaker or listener. You could even use different highlight colors for each character in multi-person conversations to ensure you've achieved that tennis-match rhythm.
Dialogue tags require careful attention. You don't need "he said, she said" after every line, but you must maintain clarity about who's speaking. Ask yourself:
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Is it clear who's talking?
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Can I infer the back-and-forth rhythm without constant attribution?
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Do my tags and actions reflect the scene's emotion?
Watch for repetition (multiple "saids" or "asks" in succession) and vary your approach by deleting some tags or using alternatives. The key is balance: enough attribution for clarity, without overstatement that becomes repetitive or distracting.
Reading your dialogue aloud & adding body language (26:48)
Reading dialogue aloud (or even asking someone to read it to you) reveals problems that are otherwise invisible on the page. By voicing your characters' words, you'll catch unnatural rhythms, speech that doesn't match personality, or language that feels forced.
Beyond sound, consider movement. ‘Flat’ dialogue occurs when characters remain static during conversations — standing still while having impassioned discussions that demand a physical response. If you were truly upset about something, would you be completely calm while talking about it? No? Well then, neither would your character (unless, of course, they’re a sociopath).
Think visually, as if watching actors in your favorite films — how do they use body language and gestures? A frown naturally signals confusion, while tension might make someone pace or snap. Anger could prompt the character standing or raising their voice. Ensure gestures align with the tone being expressed, and you’ll be crafting emotive dialogue that jumps out of the page in no time!
Further tips (33:43)
One of the best things you can do to improve your dialogue writing is study your favorite books. Ask yourself: Why is this effective? What techniques can I borrow? Identify what doesn't work too, and consider what you'd do differently.
You could even listen to conversations in coffee shops to capture natural rhythms and authentic back-and-forth exchanges (just don’t get caught eavesdropping!). Use these real-life examples as inspiration for writing exercises, creating characters based on people you observe and reimagining conversations on the page.
Finally, watch films with strong dialogue. Scriptwriters (like David Nicholls, who we mentioned earlier) craft purposeful exchanges where nothing is wasted. Pay attention to how actors perform lines, their body language while delivering dialogue, and the natural rhythms they adopt. We hope these tips can help you breathe life into your writing!
