character dialogue
What actors say
Character dialogue is the words spoken by characters in fiction, drama, film, or other narrative forms.
It reveals personality, advances plot, and creates the illusion of natural conversation while serving artistic purposes.
Writers craft dialogue to sound authentic without including the hesitations and redundancies of actual speech: The dialogue felt wooden and unnatural.
Good dialogue distinguishes characters by giving each a distinctive voice.
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
- dialectRegional language variety
- reparteeQuick, clever conversation
- verbal sparringCompetitive witty exchange
- snappy comebackQuick, clever retort
unspoken words · dramatic irony · interruptions · ellipsis · idiomatic expressions · power dynamics · cutting remarks · pacing · narrative tension · heated exchange · colloquialism · emotional resonance · back and forth · rhythm · world-building · foreshadowing · speech patterns · talking heads
character dialoguenarration
Verbal account delivery
exposition · descriptive prose · narrative summary · third-person narration · stage directions
character dialogueinterior monologue
Character's private thoughts narrated
internal monologue · stream of consciousness · thought · inner voice · silent reflection
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