Dialogue writing is a wonderful medium for improving the writing skills of children and sparking creativity in them. It helps kids understand how a conversation flows between people, and how to respond appropriately in various situations and express themselves, leading to improved verbal and written communication skills in children.
Also, Writing dialogue requires kids to put themselves in the shoes of different characters, considering their thoughts, feelings, and motivations. This practice fosters empathy and helps them understand different perspectives. By practicing dialogue writing, kids can better understand how to conduct real-life conversations, including how to start and end conversations, maintain a topic, and be mindful of social cues.
In short, writing dialogues are valuable in nurturing a kid’s passion for writing and improving their academic and personal skills. Having said that, here is a list of some unique and creative writing dialogue prompts that will help young learners gain all the mentioned benefits and some more.
So keep reading the article and enjoy writing dialogues!
Writing dialogue prompts for children
The writing dialogue prompts are designed to encourage kids to engage in dialogue writing activities. We have included one-liner prompts, story-based prompts, and long conversation prompts to cover both simple and complex dialogue writing skills.
1. One-liner prompts
Use these one-liner prompts as a starting line to begin your dialogue or plan a dialogue around these prompts to get a well-structured conversation. The one-liner prompts include-
1. I am tired of answering that question Peter. Get over it.
2. I told you not to touch that.
3. I am not sure if I want to do that, but I can……
4. No, we will never make it on time. We are too late for our school today and the teacher will be….
5. I guess he has a point. It’s better to apologize and let the matter slide.
6. Yes, you heard it right. There’s a witch living in an abandoned house deep inside the forest.
7. Oh, don’t worry about that. I am too good to mess this up.
8. Sir…. I don’t understand this. Why does it have to be done like this only?
9. Wait, you can see me?
10. You go down that lane, I will go to another one. And we both will meet at the intersection in half an hour.
11. I feel like I am cursed or something.
12. Why does it always happen to me? Why?
13. The place is a home to wild animals. You should stay away from it, especially during the night.
14. Do I have to do this? Or maybe you can ask someone else to help you?
15. Whatever you do, please don’t press that button.
16. Do you think the teacher will make an easy paper for tomorrow’s examination or are we going to regret not studying earlier?
17. Yes, you are right. Even I heard the same from some fellow mates.
18. Do you remember we promised each other that we would be friends forever?
19. This is the second time this week I have spilled coffee on my notebooks.
20. We are celebrating Christmas at my grandma’s place this year.
21. I can’t believe you told the police officer that I was kidnapped.
22. Are you even listening to me?
23. Oh dear! You look tired. Do you want a glass of water?
24. I am not eating that. We should order pizza or something else to eat.
25. Who keeps such passwords? Make it more challenging.
26. Right. First, you made a mistake and now you want me to apologize for that. Not happening.
27. You should try some exercise. It will help you with your health.
28. I am planning to join a part-time job during summer vacation. This way, I will be able to save for the next term.
29. Don’t just stand there looking at me. Come here and help me fix this.
30. Why do you have that look on your face?
31. You are going in there right now and apologize for your misbehavior.
32. What are you reading? Is it that book you bought last month?
33. I don’t think it can be repaired now.
34. There is no point in running. The bus is already gone.
35. Maybe we should ask the officer. He can tell us the correct way to the park.
36. That’s the first time I have heard anyone calling it that
37. Oh, I love chocolates. Maybe we should make a chocolate cake.
38. I have never heard of it. Are you sure you are saying it right?
39. Well, that explains why you were jittery the whole morning.
40. That is a very bold thing to say. And that too in front of everyone.
41. You are wrong. That’s not what happened at all.
42. Wanna go out and chill in the swimming pool? We can also have lunch outside.
43. Do you think, in retrospect, that it was a terrible idea and we all could have been in big trouble?
44. You have got exactly thirty seconds to explain to me what you are doing here.
45. James, you have got to see this.
46. Dude! It’s 3 am and raining heavily. What on earth made you think it is a good idea to sneak out of the house now?
47. This is like a secret between us two. Promise me you won’t breathe a word of it in front of anyone.
48. You cannot sit here all day long and binge movies like you have nothing to worry about.
49. Oh yeah, dragons are as real as you and me. And we are going to find one to prove it to the world.
50. What makes you think I need your help?
51. I told you that the diary was personal and you cannot touch it, let alone read it.
52. Where did you learn how to do that?
53. I guess you are trying to be sarcastic, but let me tell you, you are failing miserably.
54. We have been waiting for two hours. Where were you?
55. I wasn’t planning on saying anything but your seriously wrong information compelled me to say something.
56. Locals say this mansion has been abandoned for decades and no one ever visits this place.
57. Where did you learn to play such terrible piano? Surely you had some classes to be that awful.
58. Or maybe we can put a break on our exploration altogether and head back toward the safety of our camp since the palace is getting eerie very fast.
59. I should have told you this a long time ago, but I was scared of what if….
60. Maybe we should take a break from technology and hide our phones for at least a week.
2. Story-basedDialogue Writing Prompts
Story-dialogue writing prompts are the conversations that will depict the whole story. Feel free to add the background details, context, character’s emotions, etc. to make the conversations more real. The prompts include-
1. Write a conversation between two friends who have been lost in the mountains for more than six hours while trekking and are trying to find a way to communicate with someone who can help them.
2. Recall any late-night conversation with your friends or siblings and recreate that conversation to craft a new story, highlighting the character’s emotions and behaviors in detail.
3. You have been on a solo trip and someone robbed you, leaving you with nothing. You find the nearest police station and try to explain your situation to them. Craft a conversation between a police officer and you.
4. Deep conversations are the best way to express one’s authentic self. Craft a deep conversation between two friends regarding life and the future.
5. You are working for a community center and you have been allocated the task of convincing the society members to donate for the welfare of the needy. Pen down a conversation regarding how you will approach the people and successfully convince them of the donation.
6. Imagine your hero of the story is a vampire who is describing his world to a normal person. Craft a conversation between the two with proper emotions and feelings.
7. Small conversations are not always easy and can soon become awkward. Plan a small conversation between two people who barely know each other and ensure that it is smooth and relevant. Highlight the possible emotions of both characters.
8. Imagine a conversation between a scientist and an alien regarding the secrets of the universe. Craft a conversation for the same and include certain universe facts (that you have probably studied in your school) to make it look more real and intriguing. Highlight proper emotions and reactions in the conversation.
9. Think of any impactful conversation you have read or heard in a book or movie. Based on that conversation, craft a new story. You can use the same conversation or a different one but the central idea of the conversation will remain the same.
10. Craft a simple conversation between a boy and his mother where the boy tells his mother about the happenings of his day while the mother prepares an evening meal.
11. Pen down a funny conversation between two friends who talk about an important issue but in a light and sarcastic way.
12. Plan a rhyming conversation where two strangers engage in introductory conversation and talk in rhyming phrases only.
13. Think of any inspiring conversation you ever had with someone. Recreate that conversation by adding what else you could have said or removing what you think you wouldn’t.
14. Write a conversation between a woman and a salesman where the salesman tries to persuade the woman to buy the products he is selling.
15. Craft a conversation between two friends who are planning a five-day trip to nearby-state. Include every travel detail possible in the conversation, including budget, itinerary, travel, food, etc.
16. Write a conversation between two adults who are trying to resolve some problem of theirs while sorting out the tension between them. Think of a background story, context, problem, emotions, etc. to make it more enriching.
17. What according to you is most important for effective conversations between two or more two people? Using that craft a conversation highlighting the importance of that aspect.
18. Write a conversation between any two people who are on a secret mission. Describe a conversation between them, both external (what they say to each other) and internal(what they say to themselves).
19. Think of your favorite author and search for his real conversation style. Now plan a conversation between you and that author in the author’s style on the importance of reading.
20. Write a conversation between two land animals who are searching for food in the summer.
3. Long dialogue prompts
Long dialogue prompts are more in-depth and contextual. These are suitable for children who are new to dialogue writing activities. Additionally, these prompts provide flexibility and you can easily add the names of the characters (written as A or B) and additional characters that you like. The long-dialogue prompts include-
1. “That was thrilling. I never had this fun in my life,” said A
“Wanna do that again?” said B
2. “I asked my mom about the trip,” said A
“What did she say?” said B
“I will be grounded for a week, starting today!” said A
3. “ Do you think it’s alive?” said A
“Yeah, look it’s moving,” said B
4. “Get in the car,” said A
“Why?” said B
“We are going on a trip,” said B
5. “Do you think this will work?” said A
“It has to,” said B
“Otherwise, we always have our original plan,” said C
“NO!” shrieked both A and B together
6. “What were you thinking?” Said A to B
“I don’t think she was thinking at all,” said C
7. “I don’t think you understand how serious this is,” said A
“I don’t think I understand anything at this point,” said B
8. “Life is pretty hard, you know,” said A
“Yeah, and if you keep on acting like this, it will be harder,” said B
9. “We should find a place for the night,” said A
“Where do you think we will get a place in the middle of nowhere?” said A
“I don’t know. Only a miracle can save us now,” said C
10. “Mom, I will be late. I am going to a friend’s place for a study session.”
“Sure, but what is in your bag, since your books are still in your room.”
11. “I can’t believe you did that,” said A
“Well, I didn’t have many options since they were coming for me,” said B
12. “Are you sure you want to do that?” said A
“Yes, I am fully sure of it,” said B
“Cool, if something goes wrong, we run!” said A
13. “Where were you? You never made it to school, you weren’t at your friends, no call, nothing! Shouted A
“Well, actually I was in my room only, simply sleeping,” said B
14. “Hi, I would like to order a regular-size burger,” said A
“Are you alright, sir?” said B
“Yeah, why?” said A, confused
“Since you are ordering a burger at a museum,” said B
15. “Did you ask him?” said A
“Yeah, he asked us to stop bothering him,” said B
“But he is our speaker for the debate competition!” said A
16. “This was my favorite cup,” said A
“I am sorry I broke it,” said B crying
“Oh, it was already broken,” said A with a mischievous grin
17. “Do you know what today is?” said A
“Sunday?” said B
“No, it’s your mom’s birthday,” said A
18. “I think this is the wrong way,” said A
“I know the way around here like the back of my palm,” said B
“Is that why we have traveled around the same place like three times?” said A
19. “Did you get my letter?” said A
“Oh yes, a pigeon just delivered it,” said B
20. “There’s blood everywhere,” said A
“No, man! It’s just some thick red paint” said B
“But it looks like blood,” said A
“That doesn’t make it blood!” said B
Dialogue Writing Prompts PDFDownload
How to use writing dialogue prompts?
The dialogue writing prompts are designed to facilitate dialogue writing skills in children. Hence, manipulating these prompts in varied ways will help the kids master dialogue writing skills and achieve other writing benefits. Different ways the writing dialogue prompts can be used are-
1. Make a complete story
Using these writing dialogue prompts, children can imagine a story and write a complete narrative on it. The above-mentioned prompts will act as a medium to base the story on and using the dialogue, children can think of a unique storyline, context, and plot of a story. You can also use narrative writing checklists to ensure you have added important components to the story. Further, ensure the story has a proper beginning, middle, and end. Lastly, somewhere in between the story, the exact lines of the prompt or the context of the prompt should be used.
2. Make scenarios
Another way to use dialogue writing prompts is by planning scenarios. Scenarios are small instances, like a part of your day or some particular experience of your life. Using the prompt, children can imagine a complete scenario with proper conversation, people having those conversations, emotions, and feelings of those people. Again, scenarios should have a proper beginning, middle, and end. They don’t have to be very long and in-depth, simply an instance with a touch of story.
3. Real-life experiences
Can you remember a specific real-life incident based on these prompts? For instance, something happened and someone said exactly something like this or something close to it. If yes, pick that prompt and describe that real-life incident. Ensure to represent the conversation, elaborate the context in which the conversation is taking place, the people involved, how they are related to each other, their emotions, the theme of the incident, etc. Use these prompts as a base and narrate your real incidents as a well-structured story.
Tips to answering dialogue prompts
Dialogue writing is different from other kinds of writing and requires special consideration. While regular practice is the key to mastering these skills, we have some additional tips for you to ace this skill. The tips involve-
- Be specific in crafting conversations using these prompts. Adding general or irrelevant things will reduce the interest of the readers and make the content look boring and exhausting.
- Clear depictions of emotions are necessary when writing conversations. It will help the readers better relate to the content and you can better express the intent of your writings.
- When writing conversations, remember it’s two or more than two people who give inputs and ask each other things. Ensure to make a balance between dialogues where each input is relevant and on point.
- Do not complicate the writing. Try to be simple and on point. The aim is to plan a meaningful conversation that is easy to read and understand. Rather than adding complex or technical words, incorporate words that you would have used in real life during conversations.
- Dialogues exchanged between people often have plenty of questions. For instance, questions asked to know someone or questions to enquire about an event or anything else. Remember, these questions have to be directly answered rather than elongating the conversation or beating around the bush.
Wrapping up
Dialogue writing is a unique form of writing that requires a good command over writing skills and the ability to reflect the emotions and feelings of every person involved in the dialogue exchange perfectly. While it requires regular practice to achieve this skill, writing dialogue prompts can make the process quicker, easier, and smoother. These easy-to-use prompts can be manipulated and used in different ways to achieve maximum benefits. We suggest you pick one prompt each day or at least 3 prompts in a week to maintain a constant rhythm to practicing dialogue writing.
Remember, it may seem tough in the beginning but with practice, you can gain an edge over writing dialogue skills. So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and let the exchange of dialogues begin.
Sehjal Goel
I am Sehjal Goel, a psychology student, and a writer. I am currently pursuing my Masters’s from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. Child psychology has always fascinated me and I have a deep interest in learning about disabilities in children and spreading awareness regarding the same. My other areas of interest are neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. Connect me on Linkedin
