The Best Examples of Good Dialogue for Fiction Writers

Writing “good” dialogue isn't easy. I mean, even defining what makes dialogue good can trip up the best of writers. It's the kind of thing where you know it when you see it, right?

But that's not helpful for authors like us who want to up our writing game.

Let's be clear, you need to write the best dialogue you can. There is nothing more jarring or disheartening than bad, stilted dialogue. At best, messing up how your characters speak will get you bad reviews. At worst, it will get your book tossed on a DNF pile.

That's why we're going to dissect everything that makes good dialogue. That includes:

• Defining “good”
• Examples of great dialogue in books, movies, and TV shows
• What good dialogue brings to your story
• Practical tips for writing good dialogue.
• How to avoid writing bad dialogue
• The proper dialogue format

That may sound like a lot, but this topic can go even deeper, which is why we've got an entire self-paced course on it in DabbleU Academy. It includes over three hours of video instruction, plus workbooks packed with exercises to ensure great dialogue becomes second nature. If you're a member, you can check out the course here, and if you're not, what's holding you back?

DabbleU Academy is an exclusive online community where you can interact directly with the Dabble team and gain access to live workshops, Office Hours, self-guided courses, and much more. If you want to explore before you commit, you get total access with a 14-day trial of Dabble Writer. Just click here to get started.

In the meantime, let's dive into awesome dialogue.

What is “Good” Dialogue?

Like we said, defining good dialogue can be tricky. If you ask 100 different writers and readers to give you a definition, you're likely going to get 100 different answers. But we need something to work with, right?

So here's the definition we'll be working with:

Good dialogue feels natural and authentic while also advancing the plot or revealing something about a character.

I know that reads a little vague, but let's take a moment to understand it.

Natural and Authentic

If your characters are speaking like robots or with weird pacing, it's going to come across as robotic and weird. Unless your character has some flaw or quirk that makes them do this, you're going to want them to speak like actual people.

Advancing the Plot

Basically everything in your novel should advance the plot in some way. Sure, you can have some details thrown in to make your world seem alive, but adding in a bunch of superfluous details into your novel, especially in your dialogue, will bog it down and confuse the reader. Unless you are…

Revealing Something About a Character

If you aren't driving the narrative forward with your dialogue, you should use it to let the reader know a little bit more about a character. Reveal their motivation or part of their backstory. Progress their arc a tiny bit. Make the dialogue worth reading by making it meaningful.

Does all the dialogue in your story need to be good (by our definition)? No, not technically. But the vast majority should be. Again, too much meaningless content makes your book worse.

Don't fill your book with “Good morning” and “How are you?” and “Traffic was rough.”

That's boring and wastes the reader's time. Aim, whenever possible, for good dialogue.

Examples of Good Dialogue

I've compiled a heck of a lot of good dialogue here for you to analyze. We'll briefly go over why each example of dialogue works—what it brings to its respective story.

You'll see that most of these examples are pretty short. You don't need paragraphs of text to write something great. Sometimes you can write a great line of dialogue with a single word. It's quality over quantity.

Good Dialogue in Books

We have to start with books. It's a legal obligation, since we're all authors here.

"I cannot make speeches, Emma… If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more." - Mr. Knightley, Emma by Jane Austen

This line from Emma is a great example of how dialogue can reveal a character's emotions and personality. Mr. Knightley's confession to Emma is sincere, heartfelt, and reveals his inability to articulate his feelings. In fact, it's the lack of dialogue that makes this line so dang good.

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will." - Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

How else could Jane express her strength and resolve? Not only is this line eloquent, but it makes great use of a clear and understandable metaphor. Jane's declaration of independence and refusal to be constrained by societal norms is a powerful statement of her character.

"So it goes." - Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

This recurring phrase from Slaughterhouse-Five is a great example of how dialogue can be used for thematic effect. It's a simple, understated statement that appears throughout the novel to underscore its message of fatalism and the inevitability of death.

"'You're not the first to go through this, you know.' 

'I know.' 

'You think I don't know how this feels?' 

'No, you don't know how it feels! Your wife did not die!' 

'My son did! He was four years old! You're right, you're not the same. But you can take some comfort in that.'" - The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

This exchange between two characters in The Lovely Bones is a great example of how good dialogue can be emotional and impactful. The back-and-forth between the characters reveals their shared experience of grief and loss, while also highlighting how each embraces the grieving process differently. Even if you haven't read the book, you can tell just how much each character is hurting.

Good Dialogue in Television Shows

TV is a great place to look for good dialogue since, unlike books, you can hear people speak. You understand tone, inferences, body language, and everything else that goes into communicating.

Here are some of the best pieces of dialogue from television shows you might know.

"I'm not a psychopath, Anderson. I'm a high-functioning sociopath. Do your research." - Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock

Sometimes dialogue not only reveals something about a character, but it basically defines the character. It's hard not to perfectly envision Holmes saying this line, right down to the accent and smug look. Not only that, but in just one sentence, we learn that Sherlock is not only highly intelligent, but he also has a tendency toward antisocial behavior.

"I declare bankruptcy!" - Michael Scott, The Office

Sometimes good dialogue does the job while being funny and memorable. Michael Scott's declaration of bankruptcy in The Office is a prime example of how a well-crafted line can be equal parts hilarious and revealing, showing the viewer how oblivious Michael is.

"I have been and always shall be your friend." - Spock, Star Trek: The Original Series

This line from Star Trek is an excellent example of how dialogue can evoke emotion and leave a lasting impact on the audience. Spock, while being characterized for a lack of emotions from half his heritage, shows how strong his relationship with Captain Kirk is. This single piece of dialogue shows the impact these characters have had on one another.

“Who are you talking to right now? Who is it you think you see? Do you know how much I make a year? I mean, even if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. Do you know what would happen if I suddenly decided to stop going into work? A business big enough that it could be listed on the NASDAQ goes belly up. Disappears! It ceases to exist without me. No, you clearly don't know who you're talking to, so let me clue you in. I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger. A guy opens his door and gets shot, and you think that is me? No. I am the one who knocks!" - Walter White, Breaking Bad

I still remember the first time I watched this scene in Breaking Bad. It was one of the most powerful moments on television and showed us just how much Walter had changed from a meek chemistry teacher to a powerful drug kingpin. If that's not character development revealed in dialogue, I don't know what is.

And if you really want to listen to some excellent dialogue (both of which are monologues, really), you need to watch two clips (this one and this one) from Midnight Mass. Both contain some profanity, so you’ve been warned, but they stand as two of the best examples of character development through speaking in television.

Good Dialogue in Movies

Just like television, movies give us the opportunity to understand more about dialogue than just the words.

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." - Vito Corleone, The Godfather (1972)

This line from The Godfather is a great example of how good dialogue can reveal character and advance the plot. It's a statement made by Vito Corleone that highlights his power and influence in the criminal underworld, while also setting up the main conflict of the story.

"What we do in life echoes in eternity." - Maximus, Gladiator (2000)

Good dialogue is more than just basic prose, and this line from Gladiator shows us exactly that by being a great example of how dialogue can be poetic and profound. The statement made by Maximus encapsulates the themes of honor, legacy, and mortality that run throughout the movie, all of which are tenets that he holds dear.

"That's my secret, Captain: I'm always angry." - Bruce Banner, The Avengers (2012)

I'm a big Marvel fan, so I had to include this line from The Avengers. Throughout the entire movie, we see Bruce struggling to control the Hulk or accept who he is. That's why this piece of dialogue is so good: Bruce has made a major development, turning into someone who embraces who he is instead of being scared of it.

"You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lieutenant Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives… You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall." - Col. Nathan R. Jessup, A Few Good Men

This exchange between Col. Nathan R. Jessup and Lt. Daniel Kaffee in A Few Good Men is a great example of how good dialogue can reveal important information about the story and characters. While part of a larger back-and-forth, this dialogue reveals traits of both characters involved: Jessup's frustration and willingness to do what others can't, along with Kaffee's moral hypocrisy, even if it's subconscious.

Practical Tips for Dialogue Writing

Now that you've seen some of the best dialogue in pop culture (and some classics), let's talk about writing your own.

As with everything related to writing, you aren't going to just stumble into consistently good dialogue. Sure, you'll have a stroke of conversational genius every now and then, but you want to be a great writer, right? That means you should understand and practice writing good dialogue.

Create Realistic Characters

You can't have good dialogue without good characters. If you want what someone says to be meaningful and help your story, the person saying it has to be well-developed. We have a ton of articles on writing great characters, but here are a few places to get you started:

• Fleshing out a character
• How to write complex characters
• How to write realistic characters
• Writing characters your readers will love

Show, Don't Tell

This should be a guiding principle in all your writing, but it's especially important when writing dialogue. Which seems contradictory, right? Because speaking is literally telling. But use dialogue to show growth, a plot point, conflict, etc. If you need some show, don't tell practice, we've got some great worksheets right here, plus an entire course in DabbleU Academy.

Listen to Real Conversations

One of the best ways to write natural-sounding speech is to listen to real people having real conversations. Head to a coffee shop or restaurant and (politely) listen to other people, noticing the words they use, their tone, body language, and what they've deemed worth speaking about. Understand how everyone's personality, quirks, and mood affect their speech. Just don't be weird about it, okay?

Literary Devices

The effective use of literary devices and illustrative prose will help elevate your dialogue from good to great. Toss in a simile or metaphor, use evocative, emotional language to make a speech more impactful. As writers, there are hundreds of different literary devices at our disposal. Check out this link for information on all the options you have available to you.

Incorporate Subtext

People rarely say exactly what they mean, so if you want to write natural dialogue, you have to incorporate subtext.

Subtext is the meaning beneath spoken words, like in the Princess Bride when Westley says, "As you wish" but really means "I love you." Of course, the narrator rarely explains the subtext to the audience as he does in that story, but don't worry. There are still plenty of ways to help your readers understand what your characters really need.

Character action is your most important tool here. You can communicate a lot by adding mannerisms, body language, and changes in the volume or quality of their voice. You can even insert action within the dialogue to help your audience understand the emotional context without drowning them in exposition. Here's an example:

"I'm not angry." Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I'm just trying to understand your reasoning."

The spoken words tell us how the character wants their message to be perceived—calm, measured, very grown-up. The action tells us she is, in fact, quite angry.

How to Write Bad Dialogue

Not that you'd ever want to write bad dialogue, but it's likely to happen if you don't know which habits to avoid. The mistakes below are surprisingly easy to make, especially when you're just starting out.

Do your best to dodge these issues:

Dialogue That Feels Written

As an author, you want to do everything you can to help your readers believe that your world and characters are real. So when someone speaks, they need to sound like a real person.

Use contractions, sentence fragments, and relevant colloquialisms. Even allow for common grammar mistakes. If your characters' dialogue is excessively formal, poetic, or precise—and those qualities don't reflect their true nature—it's not going to sound realistic.

Dialogue That Feels Too Natural

Yep, you can go too far the other way, too. A spoken sentence plucked from the real world can sometimes be utterly incomprehensible on paper, loaded with broken thoughts and filler words.

"Did you grab the uh—no, wait, I think—um, uh, hey, hey, hey, it's on the thing."

It's certainly realistic, but a whole conversation like that will get your booked DNFed before the end of page one. So make sure your dialogue sounds natural without sacrificing clarity or slowing the pace.

Using the Same Voice for Every Character

I keep bringing up the importance of good character development for writing strong dialogue, but this is why. The better you know your characters, the clearer and more distinct their voices become when you write their dialogue.

A character's dialogue should reflect who they are, where they're from, and how they feel, and you do that primarily through their voice. This is how you prevent them from sounding like all the other characters.

What colloquialisms do they use? Do they speak in short sentences or long, lyrical monologues? How does their tone change when they're angry, afraid, or in love?

Without this distinction, all your characters sound the same. That lack of distinct voices hurts your storytelling, because it makes all the characters sound like you, the author, instead of themselves. And that really makes it hard for your readers to disappear inside the story.

Blatant Exposition

As we've discussed, dialogue serves as an excellent tool for conveying information that moves the story forward. You just want to make sure that when you use your characters' conversations to drop exposition, you stick to things they'd actually say.

A common newbie mistake is having characters explain things to one another that they'd already know. This makes for some pretty unrealistic dialogue, and it's a really effective way to draw attention to you, the author, forcing key information into casual conversation so the story makes sense.

It's better to just put the exposition in the narration if it doesn't make sense to convey it through dialogue.

Unnecessary Small Talk

Generally speaking, small talk is as tedious in fiction writing as it is in the real world. Your readers don't need it. They don't need all the "Hi," "Hello," "How are you?" "I'm fine, thanks." They don't want to have to sit there and watch pretend people talking about the traffic and the price of parking.

Skip that stuff, unless it helps you demonstrate something important, like the fact that these two characters can't come up with anything interesting to talk about. Otherwise, get right to the meat of the conversation.

How to Format Dialogue: The Basic Rules

This might not be the most exciting section of this article, but it's an important one. Knowing how to format and punctuate dialogue are part of knowing how to write it well.

Now, if you plan to write a television or movie script, the formatting advice I'm about to give you won't help. We primarily focus on prose here at Dabble, so follow this link if you need to know how to format dialogue in a screenplay, you can find that advice here.

For everybody else, I'll walk you through the basic rules of dialogue formatting in prose, which is essentially a character quote enclosed in quotation marks and possibly accompanied by a dialogue tag. But as simple as it sounds, it can be easy to make a mistake. So let's talk.

Dialogue Punctuation

Generally speaking, any direct dialogue—that is to say, an exact quote of a character's spoken words—is enclosed in quotation marks, like this:

"There's no way Tortoise is winning this race."

We're all American and Canadian here at Dabble, so you'll always see us use double quotation marks as speech marks. British English favors single quotation marks, and my fellow punctuation enthusiasts can learn all about that here.

Dialogue should be punctuated correctly, using commas before dialogue tags and ensuring that speech marks are used to indicate when speech starts and stops.

Indirect dialogue does not require the use of quotation marks. Indirect dialogue occurs when you're summarizing what a character says rather than quoting them directly. For example:

He says he thinks he can win.

As for a character's thoughts, different authors use different methods to indicate internal dialogue. The most common approaches are:

• Using quotation marks with a dialogue tag like "he thought" or "she wondered"
• Putting the character's thoughts in italics with or without an accompanying dialogue tag

Now, as long as we're talking about dialogue tags, we might as well make sure we know how to correctly attach them to dialogue.

Dialogue Tags

Also called speech tags, dialogue tags are the phrases that tell you who's speaking and how they're saying it.

"He said," "she asked," and "they bellowed" are all dialogue tags.

You can place a tag before, after, or in the middle of a line of dialogue.

When it comes after the spoken sentence, you replace the period at the end of a quote with a comma, like this:

"I need a minute to stretch my hamstrings," the tortoise said.

If the quote ends with a question mark or exclamation point, leave the ending punctuation there and attach the dialogue tag, only capitalizing the first word of the tag if it's a proper noun. For example:

"You seriously think you can beat me?" the hare asked.

Or:

"You seriously think you can beat me?" Harry Hare asked.

When the dialogue tag comes before the quote, use a comma after the tag and before the quotation marks, like this:

Tommy Tortoise said, "You bet your bippy I can!"

And when the tag interrupts a thought, use a comma before the tag (but inside the quotation marks) and after the tag (but outside the quotation marks), like this:

"That," said Petunia Possum, "is some vintage trash talk, Tommy."

Changing Speakers

Between giving your characters distinct voices and your expert use of dialogue tags, you'll be able to make it pretty clear who's talking. But proper dialogue also makes it visually obvious by using line breaks to indicate the back-and-forth of a conversation.

In other words, every time a new person speaks, you need to start a new paragraph.

Time to Write Some Good Dialogue

Remember, you won't write memorable, effective dialogue without first writing really bad dialogue. It's unfortunate, but that's just the way it is. So your next step is the best one: get writing.

To do that, you need a novel-writing platform designed specifically for fiction writers. That's where Dabble comes in.

Dabble Writer isn't just a word processor or simple writing tool. In fact, there are even features in Dabble that can help you write better dialogue.

You can keep all your character details just one click away from your writing, making it easy to reference all their flaws, strengths, weaknesses, and backstory to integrate into their speaking.

If there's a really important piece of dialogue you want to refine later, highlight it, add a sticky note next to it, or leave a comment to make sure you get it just right.

And to really nail the flow and style of your writing, let ProWritingAid—integrated directly into Dabble—let you know where and how your words can improve.

All that is just the tip of the iceberg of the tools and resources Dabble brings to the table to help you write your best story. And you can try it out for fourteen days, totally free of charge, by clicking here.

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