Talking the Talk

Let’s face it, writing dialogue is tricky. When your characters are from different backgrounds, suddenly it feels like you need to become a dialect expert, psychologist, and sociologist all at once. But here’s the good news: writing convincing dialogue that feels true to your characters doesn’t require a degree in anthropology. What it does require is a little finesse, a dash of personality, and knowing how to mix their quirks and mannerisms with their words. In this post, we’ll walk through how to create dialogue that makes your characters feel like real people—and not just generic figures pulled from a grab bag of accents and tropes.

Understanding Your Character’s Background

First things first: who is your character, really? If you don’t know where they’ve come from, how will you know how they speak? Think about it. A person raised in the countryside isn’t going to have the same speech patterns as someone who grew up in the chaos of a bustling city. Language is shaped by environment, upbringing, and culture, so understanding these elements is crucial.

Let’s say your character comes from a tight-knit Appalachian community. Expect them to speak with a certain regional charm, dropping the occasional “y’all” and maybe adding a melodic rhythm to their speech. But what if they were raised in a fast-paced New York environment? Well, that character might be more direct, rapid-fire with their words, and definitely less likely to use folksy idioms.

Pro tip: Don’t rely on overused stereotypes. Not everyone from the South is calling people “sugar,” and not everyone from Brooklyn is gruff and ready to fight. Your character’s background is an influence, not a box to shove them into.

Matching Dialogue to Personality and Emotions

Background is only half the battle. A character’s personality and emotional state play a huge role in how they talk. You know that confident, self-assured character who never hesitates and always has a witty retort? Their dialogue is going to be a lot different from the quiet, anxious one who’s overthinking every word.

Dialogue should reflect not only what a character is saying, but how they feel as they say it. Is your character furious? Expect clipped, sharp sentences, with very little patience for filler words. Are they nervous? They might stammer or use filler phrases like, “um,” “I mean,” or “well…” Emotions leak into dialogue, and they can either enhance the mood of a scene or ruin it if ignored.

Giving Each Character a Unique Voice

This is where things get interesting. No two characters should sound alike—unless they’re creepy doppelgängers, in which case, that’s a different blog post. To make your characters stand out, each one should have a distinct way of speaking that reflects their background, personality, and quirks.

Here’s the trick: mix up their word choice, sentence length, and reaction styles. For example, one character might say, “Absolutely, I’d be delighted to attend,” while another might grunt, “Sure, why not.” Both responses mean the same thing, but the tone tells us a lot about each character’s approach to life.

Personality shows through even in the smallest dialogue differences. Some people ramble. Others are direct. Some characters might always correct someone’s grammar (because they can’t help themselves), while others let their words meander, full of tangents and anecdotes. Keep their speech consistent with who they are, and readers will feel like they’re eavesdropping on real conversations.

The Great Accent Debate: To Write It or Not to Write It?

Ah, the infamous accent debate—like pineapple on pizza, it splits the crowd. Some readers love a good accent written into the dialogue, while others would rather gouge their eyes out than stumble through phonetic spelling and dropped g’s. Let’s be real: writing in an accent can be more distracting than immersive if overdone. If your Scottish character says, “Aye, lass, ye dinnae ken the trouble ye’ll be in,” you might think you’ve nailed the authenticity. But trust me, half your readers are probably rolling their eyes, muttering, “We get it, he’s Scottish.”

The truth is, accents aren’t always necessary for readers to understand where a character is from. You can hint at regional differences in speech without making it feel like your dialogue is competing in a “write-the-thickest-accent” contest. For example, instead of writing, “I’m goin’ ta the store, ya comin’?” you could simply use regional word choices like “I’m heading to the store, are you coming?” and toss in a slang term here and there for flavor. It’s less likely to annoy your reader, and more likely to keep them focused on the story, not on decoding your dialogue like a linguist at a conference. So, unless you’re gunning for the title of Most Committed Accent Writer, sometimes less is more.

Subtext: What’s Left Unsaid

Dialogue isn’t always about what’s spoken aloud—it’s also about what’s being left unsaid. In real life, people rarely say exactly what they’re thinking (unless they’re that one brutally honest friend we all have). Characters, too, often speak in layers, with subtext driving the conversation.

Maybe your character doesn’t want to confront someone directly, so instead of saying, “I’m angry with you,” they say, “No, it’s fine. Really.” And we all know what that really means. Subtext can show emotional conflict, cultural norms, or hidden intentions, making your dialogue rich and layered without having to spell everything out.

Research and Exposure: Expanding Your Character’s World

Okay, so you’ve got the basics down, but now you’re writing a character from a culture, country, or region you know little about. What do you do? Research, research, and—you guessed it—more research. But don’t just stop at Google searches. Watch movies, listen to interviews, or, better yet, talk to real people from that background. Exposing yourself to authentic voices will help you write dialogue that feels organic, not like you pulled it from a stock script.

Plus, doing your homework helps avoid the dreaded tokenism trap. You don’t want your character to be a walking stereotype. By diving deep into understanding how people from different backgrounds actually speak, you can write dialogue that’s respectful, nuanced, and—dare we say it—believable.

Making Dialogue Work for Your Story

While we’re all about authenticity, there’s such a thing as too much. If your character speaks in a thick, regional accent or has a quirky speech pattern, it’s important not to let that dominate the conversation and drown out the story. You want your readers to stay engaged, not spend half the time trying to decipher what your characters are saying.

Here’s where balance comes in. Sprinkle in regional phrases or unique word choices just enough to give your character flavor, but not so much that the reader feels like they need subtitles. Dialogue should always move your story forward, not slow it down.

Using Dialogue with Mannerisms and Quirks

Want to really sell a character? Combine their dialogue with physical mannerisms and quirks. A lot of communication happens through body language, and your characters are no different. Is someone nervous? They might tug at their sleeves while stammering. Is someone angry? Watch them cross their arms and grind out each word through clenched teeth. Quirks and mannerisms make characters feel three-dimensional and more human.

Example:

• Dialogue: “I don’t know if I can trust you.”
• Mannerism: She said, fingers tapping on the table in an anxious rhythm.

See how that simple detail changes the tone? Now, instead of a generic statement, you’ve got a nervous character trying to sound tough but giving away their anxiety.

Quirks and Mannerisms in Action

Let’s end with a few examples of how combining quirks, mannerisms, and dialogue can add depth to a character:

1. Tapping fingers on the table while speaking
   • “I don’t know if I can trust you,” she said, her fingers tapping a rapid rhythm on the table’s surface, betraying her anxiety.
2. Avoiding eye contact and shifting weight between feet
   • “Yeah, sure, I’m fine,” he muttered, eyes darting to the floor as he shifted from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable with the confrontation.
3. Scratching head when confused
   • “I mean… I guess that makes sense?” he said, scratching the back of his head, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.