Let's Talk

Great dialogue tells us something about the character. It moves the story along, and you find out things you wouldn't normally discover in the narration alone. Try this:

Draw a line down the center of a paper. (I'd do this here, but I can't figure out how! Ack.)

LEFT                                                      RIGHT

Character's name                                      Different character's name

List adjectives that                                     List adjectives that
describe character                                     describe character

Snippets of dialogue                                  Snippets of dialogue

EXAMPLE:

Kaitlyn                                                    Trevor

bossy                                                      quiet
conceited                                                geeky
talkative                                                  shy
sporty                                                     Star Wars fanatic

"You should raise your                              HOW ABOUT IF YOU TRY THIS SIDE?
hand in class."

"Don't you LOVE my hair?"

"And then Ann said that Jul said
that I could come over, but
she changed her mind and said I
couldn't."

"I am the star of the hockey
team, obviously."