Characterization

I tend to have a hard time with conversations between multiple characters as well. Here's my process:

1) Write out all the dialogue. At this point I don't care what they sound like, I'm essentially outlining the flow of conversation - what comment sparks which response, which information comes from who, which joke is made, etc.

2) Now I go back and add in personality. You might try doing a run-through for each character. For instance, I'd put myself in Character A's brain and go through all of her lines, thinking "Is this how she would say it?" The Character B, C, etc.

3) Now I go through and add gestures and punctuation where necessary, to clarify mood or whatever.

So, on item #2 - how do you create dialogue that sounds unique? People do it different ways. I am a people watcher/listener, so I close my eyes and think of how the character is standing and moving as he speaks. How does this character's personality come through in his speech? For instance, is he impatient? Maybe he speaks in short, terse sentences and uses simple words. Maybe he's very educated, in which case he might be more long-winded and express himself with larger, more precise words. Maybe he's embarrassed, so he cuts himself off, hesitates, or repeats himself.

Take your rogue and princess. I imagine the rogue is going to be "rough around the edges," so maybe he'd use some cruder phrases or street slang that might shock or confuse the princess. The princess might put things "delicately," while the rogue would put things bluntly.

To give an example from my own life, I am a very blunt person. My boss is really good at "spinning" a bad situation to present the good sides. So let's say we're both asked to describe the same hotel room.

Me: "Wow, this place is crap. It doesn't even have a refrigerator. These drapes look like they've been around since the seventies."

Him: "Well, it's not for everyone. Definitely for the budget-conscious. But it's well located and has the basic necessities. And they don't mind if you have kids or pets."

Anyone who knows us would instantly pick out which one was me and which was him. So in this case, it's not just about the diction ("crap" versus "budget") but about the way we each view the world. It's about the things we notice, or choose to present to others.

Hope that helps!

ETA: Welcome to AW!

Welcome to the board!

Random suggestion: you could hamstring the rogue's dialogue (i.e. don't just let him speak naturally) by inserting an angry nobleman or guardsman into the scene who demands that the rogue minds his manners, doesn't address the princess directly or even look at her, and if he curses once more he'll lose his head.

That might not fit your scene, it's only an example of how you might force him into an unusual speech pattern that becomes distinctive (while he finds clever ways to deliver his viewpoint and at the same time insult whoever's making the threats) rather than similar to other speakers discussing the same thing.

-Derek

Some people talk with shorter sentences or longer ones. So like to use big words, some hate to. Some people are more dominant and tend to give orders, others are more submissive and tend to make suggestions. Some people one complain, some give lots of praise. Think about how your character's personality affects their opinion of what's the right way to speak.

There is some really good advice here. I am flat out stealing JoNightshades 1,2,3. I'd also suggest listening to what people say around you, not the subject matter but they way that they say it. There is no shame is stealing someones vocal patterns even if it comes from other pieces of fiction or the big screen. After you've gone through the 1,2,3 go ahead and ask yourself how Walken or Jonny Depp or your mom might phrase things. How your other characters might react. Play around with it and have some fun.

Listening to other people speaking around you is definitely good advice. Sit down in a coffee shop or somewhere and eavesdrop. Just don't be obvious about it. ^_~

The thing that contributes to bland dialogue for me is not knowing my characters well enough. If I'm having trouble nailing their voice, or making one voice different from another's, it's usually because I haven't explored and fleshed out my characters enough. An exercise I've done to help with this is write a quick scene about their usual morning (and usually without dialogue). Seeing the character run through a typical morning helps me get attune with them, and get a better feel for the tone, not just of their voice, but of their entire lives.

All great ways to do this have been shared. I agree with them 100%.

To breathe life into your people is what makes them real. Master this and you'll be on your way to being a good writer.

Until you get cozy with this you might take some 3 X 5 index cards and jot down the quirks of each person. Just a few words about their looks, stance, favorite slang sayings, their class level, etc.

I have a chapter that has 8 demons in it and I am having a ball bringing them to life. They each have their own stamp or foot mark.

In your example I'm sure the rouge has a poor use of the English language and the Princess has very good use of it. He doesn't have to use cuss words to make him different.

Have fun with them and you will see them come alive right before your eyes.

Make sure you know your character's: race,age, gender, class, nationality, intellectual level, position of authority; and that of who they're talking to.

Avoid this:
'Yo, Davey boy! Yow dawg, ya!'
'What the dickens are you talking about, Richard?'
'Ma name's Ricky D, bruva!'
'Oh, yes, sorry, Ricky D old boy!'

That is to say, giving them ridiculous ways of talking (unless this is intentional)

Lots of great advice here. Sometimes speech patterns clarify themselves once you know your characters really well. Listening to others speak is another great way of developing patterns for your own characters. For an extreme example, listen to dockworkers then go listen to research scientists. Note the differences in the way they handle language. Lazy speech patterns, slang and all around potty mouth may be consistent with one group while the other group may speak using a sophisticated vocabulary with good language skills. I've listened to both types (although not dockworkers, forestry workers) and there are marked differences. In your case a royal is going to speak much differently than your thuggish rogue because the princess will have been raised in a more sophisticated environment. Her speech will reflect that. Your rogue would likely have had a more rough and tumble background so his speech will reflect his background.

Just a thought. One exercise is to write a dialogue using as characters some people in a TV show you like a lot. You've come to know them, and you may find it easy to write them differently -- and that's good practice.

Or even, if you have a character who resembles a character you've read about or seen in a movie/tv show, try to write for that character or actor. You won't sound so much like him that it's copying, but you may have an easier time 'hearing' his voice.

Characters are people; they each have a distinctive voice and if they all sound the same you're sunk. Their tone, their timbre, the words they emphasize should come to you readily, though this isn't always easy. I often read dialogue aloud while I think it over to see if it works.

As has been said, listening to people converse is the best way to learn how to write dialogue. Learn to denote different speech patterns by class, race, ethnicity, region, etc...as they all figure in constructing believable speech patterns. The more wordly the writer, the better their dialogue.

Welcome, Krysalis.

Before you worry about how your characters sound, worry about who they are and what they have to say. Give them something important to say, put it at odds but have them avoid saying exactly what they mean.

It might sound strange, but you'll find that characters express themselves better indirectly than directly.

As an exercise, say that the rogue wants to propose to the princess, but he's afraid that she'll reject him. Meanwhile, say that the princess has been promised to wed the Duke of Carabas and will have to leave soon -- and she's trying to break the news to the rogue without hurting his feelings. Try writing out their dialogue and see if their personalities come through more clearly -- I bet they do!

Once you work out the characters' intentions, the dialogue should come much easier.