8 Ways to Reveal Character Through Dialogue (With Examples & Drills)
To reveal character through dialogue, focus on how lines act rather than what they literally say. Make dialogue serve the character’s role and archetype, let justifications expose worldview, use reactions to show values, force beliefs into action during dilemmas, embed traits and quirks into underlying actions, apply background-based vocabulary, and dramatize psychology through distinct speech patterns.
TL;DR
Use dialogue to perform the character’s narrative role
Use archetype as a baseline for your dialogue
Let justifications for their decisions establish how the character perceives the world
Use reactions in dialogue to reveal what the character values
Force their beliefs into spoken action during a dilemma
Embed character traits and quirks into the spoken line’s underlying action
Use vocabulary, not facts, to reveal character background
Make the spoken line behave like that mind would behave
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