Now this is something that I've always had a bit of a problem with, myself, when writing modern day characters in my stories. So if any of you guys have any ideas or hidden secrets about how to pull this off in multiple stories, or just from a variety of different characters in a single story....please feel free to add some of those tips in the replies below as I can always use more help in this area. And why not learn from my peers, some of the best there is, right?

You see...and I've heard this from many of my readers as well...

Many of my characters sound alike in their dialogue. Sure the situations change, and I can get away with giving their conversations a bit of a different tilt or flavor every now and then...but for the most part, I think that most of my characters really do sound alike when they're talking with one another. Because they're all individual parts of 'me', you know? It's something that I sort of struggle with from time to time, but I'm always trying to grow as a writer, and that means tackling all of the parts of my fiction that I see as problems, or potential blindspots, when I'm working. It's kind of a tough issue to tackle, because I pretty much write the way that I speak. Like...if I was sitting in a room with any one of you, and telling you that story face to face...that's would it would sound like. This is ME...talking to you and conveying a message with each and every word that I write. And that's exactly how I want it to sound. Natural. A bond between a writer and a reader where an understanding is reached and understood. I think that I've done a somewhat decent job at accomplishing that with a story for two. I'm so very proud of that.

However...over time, I have written conversation after conversation, chapter after chapter, story after story...and I often worry that my main characters are all starting to sound the same, despite my massive efforts to give every story it's own feel, tone, and dialogue, of its own. I mean, I'm only one person, with one set of experiences in my own personal history...how can I possibly keep changing my speech patterns, my sense of humor, or the way that I speak in general for, yet another story on the list? It's not easy. Trust me.

So...the topic for this article is about how to play with different dialogues and dialects to keep your characters separate from one another, and hopefully prevent them from all sounding like they're talking to themselves all the time instead of other people.

Again, I have trouble with this myself. But I'm definitely willing to share what I've learned so far since I started, and maybe you can fill in some of the gaps on your own in the future.

Since most of my stories take place during current (or at least 'modern') times...the practice of differentiating my characters through their speech has been quite a challenge for me. I wasn't really sure how to get around it or move past it as a writer. Especially since I write about teenagers. My best defense against the monotony of having every character sound the same was simply to tie their personal dialogues into the most obvious forms of their personality. Something that has been fairly effective for me over time, but...much like the dialogue itself...the personalities that I add into my fiction will eventually run out as well. The ones that I understand enough to write about with any sense of expertise or nuance, at least. So what happens then?

I have characters that are very cynical, some that are selfish or angry, some that are shy and clumsy, some that are insecure and paranoid...and by matching their dialogue to those aspects of their personalities...I've been able to get readers to know who was speaking without me even having to say so in the text. Some of my characters are very energetic and somewhat childish...and I allow that to present itself in their dialogue. Other characters are very pessimistic or sarcastic, and I can do the same with their speech patterns when involved in a scene. And it was then that I realized that I wasn't getting the whole, 'all of your characters sound the same' comments that I was getting before. It gave me a few ideas, and I tried to go back and investigate things to find out why that was the case.

My current conclusion?

Subtle exaggeration.

THAT was the missing piece of the puzzle! Now, mind you...this was many years ago...but as I was putting a ton of period pieces together for this new "GFD: Blood Bank" website that I was trying to build online, and began writing a variety of other stories that would all eventually weave themselves into the "Gone From Daylight" vampire series, all being from different eras throughout time...I started to play with the speech and interactions between my characters by trying to do a little research and hopefully capture the vibe of the era that I was writing about.

The dialogue was meant to be a little exaggerated, but not by MUCH! I wanted it to sound natural, you know? Not like a cringe worthy presentation of something that sounded lame when you read it out loud. There's a balance to be maintained there. And you have to get a real 'feel' for it before you dive in head first and have your dialogue sounding like a late night B-movie on TV. But, as with all things, this is possible once you know what you're looking for and figure out what you're trying to do with it.

This is a craftsman's work. Knowing your tools is the most important part of using them to work your magic.

So, attempting to capture the vibe of the era that I was trying to write in, I feel like I picked up a few pointers in accomplishing what I was trying to do. When you really look deeper and figure out the language and how it has changed and evolved so much over time, you begin to see the differences in how we all relate to one another.

That's why period pieces were so effective in teaching me what I needed to know in terms of switching up the language and rhythm of the dialogue that I was using when my characters spoke to one another. You have to be able to see it in action...and truly understand what makes the dialogue different. You have to have to be in the right head space when you're writing this stuff out. You've got to picture yourself there, and submit to the rules of that time period, that culture, those characters, and those circumstances. And I feel like entertainment, music and movies and literature, are the best ways to see this in action. For this particular, I want to use movies. Because I always do. Hehehe, what? It's the best audio/visual way that I have right now to demonstrate my point. Deal with it.

When it comes to dialogue throughout the decades of cinema, where recreating a certain moment in time, there are differences that you can pick out and examine on your own to find out why it stands out, and how it affects the dialogue, and thus...the story itself.

In the examples down below, I went through and tried to personally analyze the dialogue and figure out what the true 'essence' of it was. Like...I found the older dialogue from the film, "The Last Legion" to be almost poetic in its presentation. It's almost as if every word is crafted to impress the person you're talking to. Every line is delivered with so much depth. Epic...as if it were all being recorded for prosperity on stone tablets for later. Watching many other movies that takes place during this time period, there is a lot of dry wit, a lot of metaphor, a lot of hidden innuendo. Which is in line with what people were doing with language at the time. However, in the second example...taken from an old black and white detective perspective...the whole rhythm is different. It's more like a rapid fire witty banter type of communication. It's almost as if all of it was written to be comical or flirtatious...even when it isn't. Everyone has just the right words to say at just the right time. There's this clever back and forth that brings an energetic pace to even the most mundane of conversations. Which I think is cool as hell! Hehehe! Heavy on unspoken narration, there's a certain charm to it all that I can appreciate. Then we come to the third example from "Talk To Me", which takes place in the late 60's, early 70's. The dialogue here is much more laid back. There's a certain 'slide' to it that just feels natural and comfortable when you hear it. The slang is different, the vibe is different, the interaction is more affectionate here. It's empowering, and comes with its own sense of swagger and grace. And I love that too.

Check out these three examples, and see if you can pick out your own clues to define what differentiates the three types of dialogue. Being able to recognize these differences will help you to apply the same sort of finesse to your own dialogue when it comes to whatever you writing.

Recognizing the subtleties of language, slang, and era appropriate terms and references, helps to understand dialogue in a completely different fashion. It's something that I've had a lot of fun playing around with over the years, because it's an exaggerated display of how people speak differently in real life, and that helps me to translate that into my fiction.

I've done a lot of experimenting with "GFD" series spinoffs, and there are more coming that you'll see by the time you read this. With a story like "Piece Of The Action", I was able to take on the character of a 'Capone' era group of Mafia gangsters. In "GFD: Children Of Sunset", I was able to use the dialect and expressions of characters that existed of the wild Westerns that I've seen in the past. "GFD: Disposal Of Flesh" is a story that takes place in the current day, but I wrote it to read like one of those old Humphrey Bogart type of film noir stories with the language that I used and the rhythm that I wrote it in. And "GFD: King's Order" that takes on an old 'knights of the round table' vibe the entire time. All of these experiments have been really eye opening to me, and I think it would be for you guys too if you gave it a try.

There are also other stories like "GFD: Ammo Nation" with a current day (But still old school) British criminal flavor to it, and "GFD: Streets Run Red" with a more urban gangster feel to it. I have more stories that I've been working on, but that's where I kind of run into a few problems, here and there. I definitely want to finish "GFD: Daylight Squad", which has a bunch of kids in the 80's who find vampires living in their neighborhood...but since I'm an 80's kid myself...it's hard to have the dialogue sound 80's without sounding cheesy. Does that make sense?

Like, I can write about something from the 50's, or from ancient Japan like "GFD: Blade Of Shadows", or a dark serial killer story from the 70's like "GFD: Bloodstained Duet"...but when it comes closer to the current day, I find it harder to get my characters to really sound different from one another. I don't know why...it's just difficult. I remember 80's slang, I know 90's culture...but it feels like 'cringe' for me to try to put it into a story. It feels forced. Maybe that's just me. Hehehe, but the key is to be subtle with the language and the references to avoid that problem. You don't want to be stereotypical...but you still want to exaggerate certain aspects of conversation to capture the feel, mood, and tone, of the era.

In these last three examples...pay attention to the hidden flavors involved in creating the dialogue here. How are they talking to one another? Whether it be from 60's gangster speak, 90's inner city speak, or from the old West...pay attention to the words, the slang, the rhythm of their speech, and the way it's presented in each scene. They have different appeals to them, but they're not overdone. You hardly notice the dialogue differences at all when compared to how you talk to your own friends and family at all. Not if you're not looking for it.

Take some time, and really study this. You'd be surprised how much insight you can gain into writing dialogue by experimenting with more exaggerated expressions of speech, and then teaching yourself to use those instincts to skillfully create engaging character dialogue on a much finer and nuanced level without having to write a period piece or shine a spotlight on character differences.

It can be done. And who better to do it than you? Right?

Anyway, this article is centered around the more 'amplified' ways of writing dialogue, but the point is to get you all to notice how speech can define character. And through this overemphasized series of examples, I hope that you can use that lesson to your advantage.

Having your characters sound alike when they're speaking to one another isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just means that you're really connected to them and to the story itself, where you may not even realize that you're doing it. But if you can break away from the 'sameness' of having your character dialogue come off as predictable or repetitive...then that would be awesome. And it will make us all better writers in the long run.

Like I said, this is something that I have problems with myself, and I'm always looking for ways to break the mold and possibly evolve beyond everything that I've done online so far. It's like I have the voices speaking aloud in my head, and I want to capture that in my writing if at all possible.

That's all for today! Thanks for reading! And I hope this helps you when you're writing your next big project! I'm always in the corner for creative minds sharing themselves with the world! So go for it! And make sure to give me a wave when you hit the top! K? Hehehe!