"You can type this shit, George, but you sure can't say it."
It's not the first time I've used this Harrison Ford quote, but it's an important point that bad or clunky dialogue can harm an otherwise strong story. The voice in your head can sometimes make easier work of a string of words than a human mouth would. A good general rule is, if you can't say it, your characters shouldn't say it either. Talking to yourself is nothing to be ashamed of, in fact, I'd consider it a very good sign. You shouldn't trouble yourself poring over every word that every character says, but it's a good idea to read the dialogue of key scenes out loud. Not only does this help iron out bumbling phraseology, you can also assess whether it fits the tone of the scene; see if it is something your character, or anyone at all, is likely to say in that scenario.
Talking to yourself isn't just useful for testing dialogue, it's good for creating it too. Run unwritten scenes through your head, suss out realistic actions, reactions and outcomes, check the pace and engagement of verbal exchanges without writing a word.
Good dialogue is precious. This shouldn't need saying, but, write down every piece of good dialogue you think of. Do it immediately too, don't ever trust to memory. Carry a notepad, or a dictaphone, send yourself a text message with it in if you have to; get, that, shit, DOWN.
Do you hate when you think of the perfect comeback hours after you needed it? It's called "L'esprit d'escalier", or "staircase wit". The thing you wish you'd said. Well, it needn't go to waste, write it down and have a character say it instead! For most people staircase wit is a frustration, for a writer it's potential gold. It can serve up razor sharp dialogue, it can spur more energetic interactions between your characters.
Don't just lay it up and slam it home, go one further. You may come up with an absolute killer put-down, game-changing remark, or just an old-fashioned conversation stopper, but why settle at that? Try to top it. Think of a comeback for your comeback. Why stop there? Go two further, go five further. Where should you be going? Further! Barbed, snappy character interplay that zings with intelligence and wit will win over a reader much faster than artful adjectives and passages of creative prose. Characters are the engine of a story, and dialogue is the fuel. The better the fuel, the better the story runs.
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Howdy. I'm a writer, and editor. This is a blog for those on the outside looking in at the world of writing.