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

  1. Use dialogue to perform the character’s narrative role

  2. Use archetype as a baseline for your dialogue

  3. Let justifications for their decisions establish how the character perceives the world

  4. Use reactions in dialogue to reveal what the character values

  5. Force their beliefs into spoken action during a dilemma

  6. Embed character traits and quirks into the spoken line’s underlying action

  7. Use vocabulary, not facts, to reveal character background

  8. Make the spoken line behave like that mind would behave

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