You know what’s hard to write?

Well, every author has their own answer to that question. For many people, it’s dialogue, especially in historical fiction: it’s a challenge to balance making the dialogue sound natural to the modern ear, and include enough historical lingo to make it feel accurate to the time when your book is set.

Ironically, I find dialogue one of the easiest things to write!

I think it’s because I love people watching; I listen in to many conversations when I’m out and about, and so picking up the natural cadence and rhythm is easier for me.

In fact, my first drafts are almost all dialogue and action, a bit like a script. It’s in the second (or third) draft that I add in the description and some more of the emotions.

So here are three things that I consider when writing dialogue:

1. What do I want to achieve with this dialogue? What information do my characters need to share/reveal? Where do they need to be at the end of the conversation?
2. How can I reveal character through dialogue? This could be through accents, word choices, how often they interrupt other characters or speak over them.
3. How natural does it sound when I read it out loud? This is particularly important for books that I know will be made into an audiobook, but it really helps make sure the dialogue flows.

So there you have it! Do you think I’ve missed something important? Let me know in the comments!