My OCs Being Happy (they're Gonna Live Thru Their Worst Traumas After That)

Do you have any advice on how to make dialogue more interesting? Whenever I write dialogue, it always feels so bland and monotonous.

So, I actually have a college degree in screenwriting, and I think trying to write a script or two will really help you practice those skills! Since almost everything is communicated in a script as very simple action, it's the dialogue you actually have to think about and play with how it is phrased.

Reading your dialogue out loud is also a good tactic; does it sound clunky? Would you naturally shorten words, use a different term, interrupt someone?

What about the differences in how characters speak? Maybe one has certain words they use more than others. One character might be a bit more monotonous, the other might use a ton of exclamation marks. You want to be able to do this with two characters (aka write a back and forth with no dialogue tags) and not have the readers be confused:

"And then, get this, I was walking down the trail, in the dark, all alone, the wind whistling around me, like it was drawing me in–"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. What did you see?"

"Well I saw a HUGE monster with glowing red eyes, fangs, drool dripping from its maw–"

"...It was the neighbor's cat, wasn't it."

"IT WAS THE NEIGHBOR'S CAT!"

Really simple example, but I think you can pick up instantly what kind of characters are talking, who is talking, their attitudes about the situation without directly saying that, and probably a guess at the age range the characters are.

You can communicate far more than just what characters are actually speaking about within their dialogue, you just need to study how other authors (and people in real life!) do it and practice.

YEAH I LIKE AI

(A)rtist's

(I)ncredibly good artwork that deserves to be paid for and appreciated for the time they put into it

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CAT groove !^><^!

Rainbow Dash makes a Zine

This scene is so funny bc that's definitely the best news he's heard in literal decades

my first actual contribution. hello mouthwashers

the real reason he did it