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Q&A What aspects of written dialogue are important when giving characters a unique voice?

One of the first things I thought of was temperament. Have you given each of these characters a very basic template for their temperament? This also has the added benefit of providing a tangible le...

posted 9y ago by Nick Bedford‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T04:53:06Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/20224
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Nick Bedford‭ · 2019-12-08T04:53:06Z (almost 5 years ago)
One of the first things I thought of was temperament. Have you given each of these characters a very basic template for their temperament? This also has the added benefit of providing a tangible lead on which to express their backstory through their actions and dialogue.

For example, if one of the characters was a "typically grumpy tough guy who was reluctant but ready to take the lead on things if it came to it", this would greatly influence how you would write his dialogue now that you have placed a general temperament on his character.

He would be loath to express gratitude and humour, for example, and this would be something the other characters wouldn't expect and could joke about in a scene when he did. Some would simply smile and perhaps the reckless, funny guy would throw a line in.

Alternatively, one of the characters might be the "wreckless, funny guy"...

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2015-12-29T22:37:11Z (almost 9 years ago)
Original score: 0