Writing Realistic Dialogue

Using Idioms, Slang, Contractions, and Declinations.

Here’s a fancy word: verisimilitude. Its meaning: “Appearing to be true or real.” Just as a screenwriter creates a story universe which has a quality of verisimilitude, so, too, the dialogue — the words their characters speak — must feel real.

How do you go about making dialogue feel real?

• Dialogue must flow naturally from who each character is.
• Dialogue must fit the genre of your story.
• Dialogue must fit the context of each scene.
• Dialogue must sound like genuine people speak.

The first three elements are aspects you can work on as you prepare to write your screenplay, making sure you spend time with each character so you not only ground who they are in their own personal history, but how they function in the story.

Make the dialogue real by…

Knowing who your characters are.
Knowing what their function is.

Once you begin to write your story’s dialogue, you have specific tools available to help make what your characters say feel genuine. Some of those tools are:

• Idioms
• Slang
• Contractions
• Declination

These are basic style elements for writing good dialogue, giving words vitality and authenticity, and helping to make your characters…