I’ve always rather liked producing dialogue, but I know that some writers hate or even fear it.  Certainly it can be tricky to get it to flow as it might when real people talk.  It can also be hard to show mood, tone of voice and the like, or even body language, all which actual human beings imbue with almost as much meaning as the words themselves.

One mistake people make is to put “She (or he) said” after every quote, as in:

“Oh,” I said.

“Yes,” she said.

“Three bags full,” I said.

There are several problems there.  Firstly, it sounds a bit dull if you use the same word constantly.  Secondly, ‘said’ is a rather neutral term.  It simply says the words have been spoken, but little about how.  Lastly, in talk between just two people, it’s not necessary to say who is speaking every single time someone opens their mouth.  If person A asks a question, then the answer will clearly come from person B.  Just start a new line and open new quotation marks to make sure the reader knows it’s not person A answering their own point.  It’s as well to remind the reader who’s talking now and then, just to make sure they don’t lose track, but not every last time.

Of course in discussions between multiple people it becomes more important to make sure the remarks are attributed, but that’s a whole different ball game.

Then there are many words that can be used instead of ‘said’, each of which carries slightly different implications for how something is said, and the way the speaker might be feeling.  I’m sure you can think of plenty more, but here arde quite a few you could include:  whispered, murmured, yelled, shouted, breathed, breezed, mused, giggled, laughed, ventured, slurred, shrieked, squealed, stammered, coughed, asked, drawled, shuddered, lied, snarled, sneered, grinned and so on.

Many writing tutors seem set against using adverbs in dialogue, but I’ve never really understood why.  As with everything, it pays to be sparing, but they are a great way to put a little more feeling into speech without giving lengthy descriptions.  For example:

“Oh yes?” she asked sarcastically, gives you a lot more clue as to what’s happening than just:

“Oh yes?” she asked.

Plus, real people tend to hesitate a good deal when they talk, especially if they are nervous.  Likewise different people might have different mannerisms of speech that can be very personal.  So don’t be afraid to put in the odd ‘err’, ‘you know’ or ‘um’, or to say if someone pauses altogether.

If you do have characters with their own vocal foibles, make sure you remember what they are.  You don’t want that person to speak totally differently in different conversations, it will sap their three dimensionality.  I can give a few examples from my own work.  For example, grumpy Yvonne Wright has a challenging way of addressing even her friends by both their names: ‘Hazel Fauld’, ‘Tina Burns’ and so on.  She might even growl:

“Hazel Fauld I want a word with you.”

When she basically just means ‘hello’. 

Annie has a mid-Atlantic way of speaking, as she spent a lot of her childhood on international engineering projects with her parents.  But she’s not American; her speech just has that slight tinge.  And, of course, she always calls Hazel (but no one else) ‘Babe’.

Londoner, Gerry, meanwhile, drops his H’s and the G’s from the end of words, so Hazel is ‘Azel’ or more usually ‘Aze’.  He also tends to miss out the words ‘I am’ and put the person he’s speaking to’s name in a statement, even when it’s obvious who he’s talking to.  So you might have:

“D’you want a drink Gerry?”

“Can’t Aze, drivin’.”

Specific mentions of body language can also add atmosphere and realism.  Someone might wink, for example, or run nervous fingers through their hair.  They might shiver, blush, shake with rage, shrink with fear, lick their lips or give a mischievous grin.  Once again, don’t overdo it.  But if it adds something useful, then it’s all to the good.