Dialogue between a shopkeeper and a customer can vary wildly, depending on their relationship. If the customer is a regular, the dialogue will be more casual and perhaps warm, with jokes, for example. A first time customer would demand politeness and respect. What the type of relationship, dialogue between customer and shopkeeper is above all transactional.
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How do you write a conversation with customer and shopkeeper?
When you’re writing a novel and need to create realistic dialogue between two people, it’s helpful to think about the situation they’re in.
For example, if one is at a post office counter and the other is at the customer service desk of a shoe store they might greet each other differently, or they might have different contexts for their conversation.
So when you have two people that are talking in your story – whether it’s in an office or on the street – remember that dialogue should be polite but will be transactional in a shop setting.
Learning how to write fictional conversation between two characters is necessary for a writer who writes novels, short stories and novellas.
It shows a writer how he can turn a normal situation into a dramatic one. It makes fiction interesting and fun to read. A writer needs a believable dialogue between different kinds of people.
Video – How to write a dialogue between a shopkeeper and a customer
How should a shopkeeper talk to a customer in a novel?
As far as the shopkeeper goes, the shopkeeper should be polite but transactional. The dialogue would depend on their relationship.
If they’re family members or really good friends, it would be natural and there wouldn’t be a need for the shopkeeper to mention the price and quality of the goods too much.
When writing conversation between two people in a more formal business environment they should talk about prices and quality of products more. Whatever the setting, both the customer and the shopkeeper should be respectful whenever they speak with one another.
Whether you’re writing a short story, novel or novella, you will always want to consider what the characters are doing in relation to one another when they speak.
If they’re at a post office counter or they’re in line at a grocery store they’ll have different conversations than if they were standing on the street corner chatting with each other for example.
How should a customer talk to a shopkeeper in a novel?
It’s helpful to think about the business situation in which you’re writing your dialogue.
When writing a novel realistic dialogue is important to the story flow. It needs to be authentic and reflect the situation of who’s speaking and what they’re doing.
What is a customer dialogue?
When a customer approaches a counter a polite greeting is a good way to show respect. The following may be appropriate:
“Good day, may I help you?” or “Hello, what can I do for you today?” or “How are you today?” or even “Good day.” These are all friendly encounter dialogues that let them know who they’re dealing with and how they should address them.
What is a useful tip for writing dialogue?
An appropriate greeting can be used in a story anytime if you’re writing an encounter dialogue to respond well to the situation.
Many writers may forget this and write, “Hey!”, or “What’s up?” or “Who’s your favorite actor?” Instead of using the appropriate greeting, the writer may forget to show respect to the character they are talking with. It can make it seem as though they don’t care about the person.
How do you write a dialogue between two people?
It is always best to keep your dialogue conversational and natural. When writing dialogue you need to make sure that the person speaking is consistent with what they are feeling at the time. No one is going to exclaim “I am so lost for words”, if they are not lost for words.
Your dialogue needs to ring true. It needs to be authentic and reflect the situation.
Talking to people in real life is an art unto itself, it requires you to be conscious of the environment around you, the feelings of the other person you are speaking to, their state of mind and what they might be thinking at that particular moment.
Here are some things you need to consider when writing dialogue:
How do you write good conversation between two characters?
Dialogue isn’t really like conversation, although it’s intended to be. It should be direct and matter-of-fact. Dialogue should never be personal or sarcastic, although it can be humorous and lighthearted.
It needs to be short and to the point and never boring or verbose (overdone). It should be natural and free of style, but also dramatic and witty.
Here are some rules for writing conversation with customers:
1) Use proper language that’s correct for the time period you’re writing in.
2) Use the active voice (hence the name “active dialogue”)
3) Dialogue should be short and simple.
4) It should be brief and brisk, because it’s seen by the reader as a quick review of the situation. If you write a long conversation, it could seem endless.
5) Try to avoid questions, but if a customer asks a question, respond with a yes or no answer. Don’t set up a bunch of questions or answers in advance because later on you may have to cut them out anyway. Keep your dialogue short and to the point.
In fact, I recommend keeping your dialogue short and concise throughout for fiction writing in general. Place emphasis on action not words. The point of dialogue is to convey information, not make a reader stop and think about what you wrote.
Readers shouldn’t have to stop and wait for a character to finish a sentence. Like I mentioned before it should be brief and brisk. The character shouldn’t be talking just for the sake of talking either.
6) Use contractions in dialogue. It sounds more natural that way.
How do you write dialogue in writing?
7) Keep your words at a higher level of education, as if you were teaching someone else English as a second language (ESL). In order for your writing to sound correct, it should be grammatically correct as well as historically correct.
8) Speak to your character in a way they would actually speak.
If you want them to sound more educated than they actually are, use words that reflect their education or profession, but don’t go overboard with it. Avoid using too much slang of the time period you’re writing in.
For example, if you need to use a slang term like “cool” (how else would people of that era discuss cool things? It’s not like it wasn’t cool then), then we can substitute “smokin” or something similar.
9) Be consistent with your dialogue and character’s feelings and thoughts. Dialogue should reflect the person the reader is learning about and what he/she is thinking at the time.
Do I need an action sentence to start off my dialogue?
Towards the beginning of the conversation, it’s best to have an action sentence that describes what your characters are doing while they are talking.
To show the reader what is going on, you should have an action sentence in your dialogue. It can be describing what they are doing while talking or something external.
If you have a scene with two characters in it, you can write yourself into a corner if you don’t jumpstart their conversation with some kind of action or at least something external that they can react to through their dialogue.
If your dialogue is just one person asking another person questions, then that’s drama (not conversation).
What is a technique to write convincing dialogue?
A good dialogue is written in an active voice using contractions. It should also be written specifically for that moment in time. If you are writing dialogue to portray an angry person, don’t use angry words.
If you are writing dialogue to portray someone who is interested in what you are saying, try to pronounce your words with interest and good diction (pronounce every syllable). Try not to use slang or bad grammar.
Use descriptions of your character’s emotions or body language if they act differently than how they would act when not talking. Have them react the way they normally do when angry, bored, etc.
What are the steps to writing good conversation?
The word ‘conversation’ usually refers to speech between people, whereas ‘dialogue’ usually refers to written speech amongst groups. Fiction dialogue is a form of written conversation which conveys a sense of reality and a sense of fiction simultaneously.
The word ‘conversation’ typically implies a continuous flow, whereas the word ‘dialogue’ often indicates that the characters are taking turns to speak.
How do you write convincing dialogue?
The most important thing in writing dialogue is to make it grammatically correct, and to put the characters in the right situation.
- Dialogue needs to be natural; it will not sound right if the characters are speaking unnatural words or using unnatural grammar.
- The conversation needs to flow naturally; this is where “free indirect speech” comes in handy. You can use free indirect speech by introducing a character’s comments with “said”, “asked”, or “as if”.
- The purpose of the conversation is to give information about the situation, not to give information directly (direct speech).
- We know things are not what they seem when it comes to fiction, so you have no choice but to use free indirect speech. It is the only way you can convince your reader that what characters are saying is true.
I want to write a scene between my characters in which they are talking about the topic “lookalikes”. My character’s dialogue should go something like this:
“He looks just like me!” The customer said this with a sparkle in her eye and a smile on her face.
How do you write natural sounding dialogue between two characters meeting for the first time?
If the dialogue between two characters meeting for the first time is natural sounding, it can be difficult to write convincing dialogue. To make it sound more natural, you should introduce your characters and allow them to get acquainted with each other before they start talking less formally.
You can say: “He’s new here,” or “So what do you think of our place?” If your dialogue is to be convincing, it needs to flow naturally, and the characters need to be polite (or at least civil) toward each other.
You should also make sure that your characters do not talk too much or too little by using free indirect speech.
Summary – Write dialogue between a shopkeeper and a customer
The most effective way to pace dialogue is to have the customer say something and then stop. The shopkeeper should then respond, making sure that they use their full name when speaking.
This pattern should be continued until the conversation is over. While this is the normal way to pace dialogue, it is not the only way.
If you want to make your story more interesting or add more humor, you can make the characters talk over each other (back and forth) to add extra flair.
When writing dialogue between two shopkeepers, you should make sure that they do not talk over each other for too long, because it will be hard for a reader to follow along and might end up feeling confused.
You should also avoid adding too much unnecessary information in your dialogue (such as: “I live in Texas,” rather than: “I’m from Texas”), because it can get confusing and take away from your story.
Shopkeeper and customer dialogue tips
- Dialogue needs to be natural; it will not sound right if the characters are speaking unnatural words or using unnatural grammar.
- The conversation needs to flow naturally; this is where “free indirect speech” comes in handy. You can use free indirect speech by introducing a character’s comments with “said”, “asked”, or “as if”.
- The purpose of the conversation is to give information about the situation, not to give information directly (direct speech).
- We know things are not what they seem when it comes to fiction, so you have no choice but to use free indirect speech. It is the only way you can convince your reader that what characters are saying is true.
More resources for writing dialogue between shopkeepers and customers:
Conversation Between Shopkeeper/ Salesman and Customer
Dialogue between student and shopkeeper to buy books
How to Greet Customers in Retail
Write a dialogue between a shopkeeper and a customer
