: Re: How to create varying, yet realistic, speech patterns Different characters speak differently. If someone reads me a letter written by an immediate relative, I can tell right away who wrote it.

@Mendez196

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Giving a character their own voice is difficult for me, but I've found that looking at the traits of the character is the first thing you want to do.

Ask yourself 3 questions:

1 how smart is your character?--basically, the smarter the character is, the more words they'll know. Such as using the word flamboyant to the word showy. Short, simple words to long, complex (sometimes even snotty) words.

2 How much does your character talk?--the quiet guy vs. the guy who can't keep his mouth shut for more than a minute. Also the length of the dialogue, quiet or shy guy will talk less, ect.

3 How does your character's personality effects their use of words?--think sarcastic, optimistic, ect. The optimist will always try to end on a happy note or use words that suggest things in a bright manner. Likewise, the sarcastic one will use words that are said in the opposite manner that they should mean.

I hope that helps. These are just the three steps that have helped me in developing my character's dialogue patterns, and since working with these steps my dialogue have improved greatly (though it still needs work). Good luck!

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