Welcome to Gaia! ::

Here's 7 tips to help out:

1. Listen to How People Talk.
Slang and Colloquialisms change from place to place and from time to time. Write how your character would actually talk. A Cowboy in the 30's wouldn't call something "cool". A Military general in the future wouldn't refer to something as "rad".
Keep in mind how people REALLY talk, the sorts of clauses they use, the slang they use. Don't be afraid of a little research.


2. Keep to the point.
Alfred Hitchcock said that a good story was "life, with the dull parts taken out." Edit out the filler words and unessential dialogue -- that is, the dialogue that doesn't contribute to the plot in some way. This keeps the dialogue relevant without being boring.

3. Don't Provide Too Much Info at Once.
Few things are worse than having one character tell another character everything in the first chapter of the story. If you need a lot of exposition at once, do it in a prologue, or at least in the narrative. Making it dialogue is awkward and very often out of character.


4. Break Up Dialogue with Action.
Remind your reader that your characters are actually doing something other than just spewing words out of their mouths. What are they doing WHILE they speak? Making a sandwich? Reading the paper? Playing the new Pokemon game (As I am, right now)?
Remember not to over do this though. We don't need an "He shrugged" "He huffed" "He sighed" after every sentence.


5. Don't Overdo Dialogue Tags.
Veering too much beyond "he said/she said" only draws attention to the tags -- and you want the reader's attention centered on your brilliant dialogue, not your ability to think of synonyms for "said." There's really nothing wrong with saying "said". When you get "muttered" "Grumbled" "exclaimed" "stated" "Replied" etc, etc like you're just scrolling down the list of "said synonyms" it tends to break the flow of the narrative. These words are good in moderation, but only in moderation.


6. Stereotypes, Profanity, and Slang.
Be aware of falling back on stereotypes, and use profanity and slang sparingly. Stereotypes are boring, slang becomes dated, and profainity in excessive amounts is off putting. Avoid them.



7. Punctuate Dialogue Correctly.
The rules for punctuating dialogue can be confusing: many writers need help getting them right in the beginning. Take some time to learn the basics. A reader should get lost in your prose -- not feel lost trying to follow your dialogue.




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Writing Prompt:
Write some dialogue, obviously. Pick one of the practice scenario's from EACH category (So you'll have 2 in all) below and write about a fourth to half a page on it, paying extra attention to the dialogue.

Category 1:
-A Girl meets her best friend at the mall while shopping for Christmas Presents.
- A Boy breaks up with his girlfriend
- An adult finds a small child lost in the grocery store

Category 2:
- A Princess from a different planet meets with the Earth Ambassador for the first time
- A Traveling monk stops at a tavern on his way to the Holy land to buy a drink
- There's a malfunction in the control room of the space station.



Which of the 2 did you find more difficult?
Which was more fun to write?
Which do you, personally, feel is more interesting and why?

XD Of course. Do whichever lessons appeal to you, Kei.

Loved it Kei. I really enjoyed the second one. It had a lot of jargon, but it all made perfect sense. Worked really well.

Jargon is the the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group.
Basically it's the special "slang" for a certain group or profession.

So an Astronomer could say "Yeah, I was measuring the parallax of that red shifted object and I think it's a MACHO." and another Astronomer would totally understand, but you would have no idea what he meant.

No, no, it's good. I liked it. The jargon made it more believable. What I was saying was that there was the presence of Jargon, but we had enough context to know what you meant, so it was really good.

I'm doing only one today. The other category I'll probably try anytime... Not now, though. It's half past midnight and I'm sleepy. =) I hope you like it, sensei.

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Category 1:
-A Girl meets her best friend at the mall while shopping for Christmas Presents.
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Lily stood in front of a Calvin Klein showcase and her eyes traveled from the v-neck shirt one of the mannequins were wearing to the shoes lying on a support. Beautiful clothing to beautiful men, she thought, a pity those products were way beyond the tight budged she had to live with that December. After buying her little sisters two lovely teddy bears, her mother a brand new purse and her dad a new wallet, she found herself almost broke – Yet, her brother deserved something special.

Holding her shopping bags on her left hand, she fished her cell phone from her coat's pocket with the free hand. It was only three in the afternoon but she felt tired like she'd been working all day long. It would soon be dark and cold outside and going home would turn into a nightmarish trip. On that day, especially, she actually wanted to be home as sooner as possible. Lily hated the fact she lived so far away from downtown. Spotting a Levis' Strauss store she hadn't noticed before, Lily smiled. Levis' wasn't that expensive.

She walked in, headed straight to the male department and leaned over a rack of polo shirts.

"Lily!" Someone yelled. She was sure she knew that voice. She turned her head to the left, looking through the glass, but saw no one she knew. "Lily!" The voice repeated and, before she turned around to find Kyle walking over to her, she knew it was him.

"Where did you come from, Kyle?" She asked, giving him a half hug with the hand that wasn't holding the bunch of bags.

"Saw you when I was passing by." He replied, motioning with his hand as to explain the exact path he had done. "Dan's over there with his mom."

"Dan... You mean, your Dan?"

"Yeah," He smirked. Lily has always thought of Kyle's smile and teeth as perfect. They were clear white and as straight as they could get. She had used bracers for over two years and her teeth were far from being like his. Plus, he was one of those guys who not only smiled with their mouth, but with their eyes. She loved his smile. "My Dan."

"You're out with him and…" She paused, eying her friend suspiciously. "...His mother?"

"Yessir, Dan's mother. You want any help with those things?" Kyle inquired, already reaching out for the bags she was holding. "You look like Santa Claus with these."

"They're not so big!" She protested, pouting and checking on her cell phone again. Three and fifteen. No messages from anyone. No calls.

"It's you that's too little." He mocked her, patting her head. Lily was indeed short, but it didn't help that Kyle was one of the biggest boys in their class. She often suggested he'd try for the basketball team, but he never listened. Such a height put to waste. "Say, it looks like you've got enough presents here already. You need more?"

"Yeah. For my brother." She answered, turning around and resuming her task. She spotted a grey tee-shirt with green stripes and held it up. "Do you remember him?"

"Yeah… Of ‘course!"

"What do you mean, of ‘course?" She inquired, raising a brow.

"You know what I mean." He said, chuckling. "Is he back from France already?"

"No. Still two years to go until he finishes his major there… But he's coming over for Christmas. Took the plane some hours ago, it seems." Deciding against the grey tee-shirt, she put it back on the rack and walked some steps ahead. Her brother was a tall, handsome man. With a slender body and a rigid posture – She couldn't just buy him anything. It had to fit. "I wanna be home before he arrives. Dad said I can drive to the airport to pick him up."

"Freddie's always been your favorite, hasn't he?"

Lily smirked. "I think, yeah… Maybe it's because he's six years older, I don't know."

"Maybe it's because he's hot?" Kyle suggested playfully.

"Oh, shut the ******** up, Kyle." She spat, grinning. From another rack she retrieved a dark blue v-neck. "Keep my macho brother away from your gayness. Now, come here." She asked, but it sounded more like a demand. The boy walked over, standing in front of the girl as she placed the v-neck in front of his torso. "Imagine yourself a successful lawyer. Would you wear this?"

"No." He said straight away. "I know he must look serious but that shirt is just too plain. Kind of ugly, too. Try… Let's see…" His voice faded as he reached his arm out and searched the rack for something he liked. In a minute or so, he retrieved a beige bottom-up shirt. It was a very fine fabric, with a small detail on the collar. All in all, a beautiful shirt. "I'd wear this."

"Beige? For Freddie?" She sounded insecure, but she, too, had liked the choice. Taking the shirt from her friend's hands, she inspected it further. She even smelled it.

"Beige would stand out on Freddie, believe me. He'll look even hotter on that." He smiled again, and she returned the gesture with a grin. Kyle was right. That shirt did fit Freddie. Deciding for it, she walked over to the counter, already retrieving her wallet from her purse. The best part of it was that it fit her budget. She couldn't wait to see Freddie again after two long years. The family all gathered again for the Christmas sounded like awesome plans for the weekend. As soon as she paid for the product, Lily and Kyle walked out of the store.

"I suppose you'd better go back to Dan, right?"

"Yeah… I doubt he misses me, though." He joked, smiling. Lily could tell he was head over heels for the boy. She had met Dan on only a few occasions, since her friend's lover was older and attending to University at the nearby city. Yet, ever since they had started dating, Kyle had been very faithful and horribly in love. It was pretty cute to see him like that. She loved it when Kyle was happy and confident.

"Does his mom know?"

"She does. Cool, right? We can be ourselves in front of her without a problem. Feels so right you wouldn't know." The tall boy answered, handing the girl her bags. "We're completing one year next month, did I tell you?"

"I remember. It was on my birthday's week that you met him."

"Yeah! Right." He said, smacking his own head. "Blessed be that week. You know, we should really catch up, Lily. Ever since you started working, I barely see you."

"I'm sorry…. Things have been a real mess lately. But I promise I'll make up for it, Kyle. We could hang out next week…. After Christmas. Me, Freddie, Dan and you. What do you say?"

"I'm all for it, baby!" He assured, giving her another hug. "I really gotta go, now. Otherwise my mother in law will be suspicious." Kyle was such a joke, Lily thought after she hugged him and watched him go. They should really make up for the lost time… With Freddie together, it would certainly feel like life couldn't be better. The most special people were the most special gifts. She turned around and walked away.