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I’ve had so many writers tell me that they struggle with dialogue.

When I first began writing novels, I did, too. I would get feedback from my critique group saying, “A lot of the characters sound the same,” or, “A lot of the characters sound like you.”

In the late 1990s, I began teaching drama and working with kids and teens. The more I interacted with them, the more my ears picked up slight nuances, expressions, tone, sentence length, and things that made each individual’s voice stand out.

At first, I wrote their plays with each of the specific kids in mind. I matched the student to a character in the play who I thought would sound a lot like them.

And to my surprise, it really brought the dialogue to a whole new level.

Now, how to apply it to my novels.

One skill I learned to develop further was how I listened to conversations. One of my favorite ways to do this was to grab a coffee and sit in the middle of a coffee shop and listen. I would scribble down a great turn of phrase I’d hear, or an expression that sounded unique. I wasn’t interested on eavesdropping on their conversations in a nosy sort of way. I didn’t really care what they said as much as how they said it.

I began to notice how some people talked quickly and used their hands to gesture. Others talked in short, simple sentences. Some rambled on and on. Others used an upward or downward inflection when they spoke. Some voices carried and were very loud, others were very articulate, and even others were light and not so articulate. The options were individual and limitless.

Another thing I did, that I believe helped me hear each character’s unique way of speaking was by scouring the internet for photos of what I pictured when I thought of each character. By looking at their pictures and listening in my head as I wrote their lines, my dialogue improved.

I also analyzed dialogue in the books I read, looking at how other writers handled it. I listened to the ways characters spoke in movies, and the actors in live theatre.

I also followed some great advice I received, which was to read the words I wrote out loud. This not only helped with getting a feel for the different characters’ voices, but it also helped weed out awkward word choices, sentences, and yes, dialogue.

Dialogue is everywhere, from the conversations we have, to the text messages, to all the forms of entertainment, if only we make the choice to listen.