In the spirit of NaNoWriMo, I'm going to share some of the things I've done in fiction writing to make my dialogue sound natural.
1. Keep it short.
People don't talk in speeches. Even people who can write really well tend to use shorter words and sentences while speaking, especially in casual dialogue. If you have to have a long paragraph, consider breaking it into tow sections and separating them either with dialogue tags or by leaving the first paragraph without a closing quotation mark and completing the second paragraph as normal.
2. Make it look spontaneous.
Characters don't have time to plan out their dialogue. There are small ways to write this in, like letting them say a more common word when there's technically a more accurate but also more obscure synonym. Another thing is that when characters go to list off things, they may confuse the list being used. If they start with "First of all," for instance, they may later say "Secondly," and so on. Sentence fragments and sentences that start with conjunctions, when used sparingly, are also good for this.
3. Stutters and filler words are okay, but only in moderation.
In written dialogue, a little goes a long way. If characters use "um" or "like" every other word, readers will get bored and annoyed rather quickly. If that's something you want to portray though, try adding in a few instances here and there rather than all or none. The overall feel will ring true, but the writing won't be as cumbersome.
4. In fight scenes, go even shorter.
Fight scenes are so fast-paced that characters don't have time to formulate sentences and speak them. They also can't afford the extra air. That's not really where their brains are going to be, so when writing fight scenes, try to chop down as much dialogue as possible. Also use shorter words—less air and less concentration.
5. Characters don't refer to each other by name often.
It can be tempting to preface every piece of dialogue with the listener's name, especially as a way to tone down the role of dialogue tags. The problem here is that if you pay attention to real-life dialogue, people rarely use each others' names. Note exceptions—some of these include added emphasis and calls to get the listener's attention.
6. Dialogue tags can add dimension but shouldn't be noticeable to the reader.
"Said" is okay. "Said" tells the reader who's talking as quickly as possible and by the end, the reader may not even remember reading dialogue tags. If it's really obvious who's speaking, you may even be able to go a few lines at a time with no dialogue tags at all. The flip side here is that dialogue tags can be actions and reactions, too. These remind the reader what the characters are doing and where they are while they're talking. They can also incorporate body language.
7. Conversations go faster than in real life.
In real life, people ask for things to be repeated, sentences trail off, tangents last for several minutes... the process can take a while. In written dialogue, though, every word is precious and you always want to keep your reader engaged. Much like #3, these things can be used in moderation, but infrequently.
8. Read it aloud.
Characters have their own lilt and pattern to their speech, and there really isn't any better way to track exactly what each one sounds like and check each sentence for flow than reading aloud. If for whatever reason that isn't possible where you are, try mouthing the words slowly, with proper inflection. It really does make a difference.
I'm not a master of fiction writing by any means, but I've been studying and practicing for over five years now, and these are some of the tips I've learned in that time. If you thought this was helpful or you'd like more articles on writing-related subjects, let me know!
