How To Write Two Characters Talking At Once Dialogue Guide

CHARACTER 1. CHARACTER 2. I can’t believe this! This is all my fault. Stage directions are non-spoken instructions written in the script that refer to lighting, sound, costumes, props, scenery, camera angles, and character emotions and movements. [2] X Research source

I can’t believe this! This is all my fault.

CHARACTER 1. I can’t believe / this! CHARACTER 2. This is all my fault.

Multiple characters saying the same thing: “Yeah, right,” the girls said in unison, obviously not believing his lies. “Yeah, right,” they mutter. Together, the girls cross their arms and say, “Yeah, right. ” I look over at Julia and know exactly what she’s thinking. We say as one, “Yeah, right. ” Multiple characters saying different things at once: “Yeah, right,” Julia said. “Are you serious?” Georgie said at the same time. “Yeah, right,” I say, while, at the same time, Georgie exclaims, “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, right,” the girls said in unison, obviously not believing his lies. “Yeah, right,” they mutter. Together, the girls cross their arms and say, “Yeah, right. ” I look over at Julia and know exactly what she’s thinking. We say as one, “Yeah, right. ”

“Yeah, right,” Julia said. “Are you serious?” Georgie said at the same time. “Yeah, right,” I say, while, at the same time, Georgie exclaims, “Are you serious?”

Now, there are always exceptions to this. Suppose you’re introducing a character to another character for the first time. In that case, greetings may be necessary but won’t be needed every time the character appears.

Acknowledged Noted Stated Muttered Asked Gushed Exclaimed Groaned Agreed Grumbled Stuttered

Dialect: “I think she mine. My heart say she mine. But I don’t know she mine. If she mine, her name Olivia. I embroder Olivia in the sea of all her daidies. I embrody lots of little stars and flowers too. ” (Alice Walker, The Color Purple) Accent: “I got hurt a little, en couldn’t swim fas’, so I wuz a considable ways behine you, towards de las’; when you langed I reck’ned I could ketch up wid you on de lan’ ‘doubt havin’ to shout at you, but when I see day house I begin to go slow. ” (Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn) Expressing opinion: “”They’re certainly entitled to think that, and they’re entitled to full respect for their opinions,” said Atticus, ‘but before I can live with other folds I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience. ’” (Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird)

Who are they talking to or with? What are they doing physically? What are they thinking emotionally? Where are they located? Why are they in this scene?

Ask a friend or family member to read your dialogue out loud to hear it from someone else’s voice. Consider copying and pasting the dialogue into Google Translate or another speech program so the computer can read it back to you. If the conversation doesn’t sound right, go back and revise. Pretend you’re your character(s). What would you say in the given situation or in response to someone else? Sometimes even changing one word can make a huge difference!