A few days ago, you may have read an entry about how to use dialogue to craft compelling characters. How about applying what you learnt?
Below are a few short but sweet dialogue prompts, courtesy of Bryn Donovan. Your goal is to pick 1-3 of the below dialogue prompts (or more!) and write short scenes—how “short” is defined is entirely up to you—between two or more characters based on the prompts.
If you’d like, you can share your exercise pieces here or via email, Facebook, or Twitter, or you can keep them to yourself. The point of this exercise is to strengthen your ability to write dialogue, as well as explore characterisation through it. Of course, you’re also free to use and share other prompts found in the previously linked blog post or from elsewhere.
Now, without further ado, here are twenty prompts:
- “Ah yes, come in. Close the door behind you.”
- “I know this may be hard to believe, but I’m on your side.”
- “Never heard of that being used as a murder weapon before.”
- “You found it on the beach? You know, when most people take a walk on the beach, they pick up seashells.”
- “You think you’re so good-looking, but deep down, you’re the kind of ugly that PhotoShop can’t fix.”
- “I don’t really think of myself as a thief…”
- “Dude. It’s 3 in the morning.”
- “She’s evil, but she does have a point there.”
- “I don’t suppose you’ve got a blowtorch around here?”
- “It’s been a while since I’ve seen y’all in church.”
- “I told you not to read that.”
- “Put the turkey down.”
- “Are you banned from all Taco Bells, or just that Taco Bell?”
- “Sometimes being a total geek pays off.”
- “Why is that your password?”
- “Please don’t use sarcasm. It confuses me.”
- “If you were logical you would’ve killed me already.”
- “Yes, it’s a questionable line of work, but I’m good at it.”
- “I’m cured. I swear.”
- “The next time you shoot a guy, don’t do it on national television.”
Crafting Compelling Characters 