Dialogue Prompts
Good dialogue is rarely people saying exactly what they mean. These prompts give you a first line or a situation where two characters want different things, so the conversation carries tension and subtext.
Dialogue Prompt
"You kept the receipt? Of course you kept the receipt."
15 dialogue prompts
- "You kept the receipt? Of course you kept the receipt."
- "I didn't come here to apologise. I came to get my dog back."
- Two siblings clear out their late father's garage. Neither mentions the will.
- "Is this seat taken?" "Depends who's asking."
- A job interview where the candidate realises the interviewer is their ex.
- "We need to talk about what happened at the lake."
- A couple argues about the dishes. They are really arguing about moving abroad.
- "Tell me the truth, and I promise I won't be angry." (They will be.)
- Two astronauts, one oxygen tank, twenty minutes.
- "You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be dead."
- A child explains to a grandparent how the internet works.
- Two strangers realise they are both at the wrong funeral.
- "I read your diary." "Which one?"
- A hostage negotiation over a stolen cake.
- Write a whole conversation where neither character says the word they both are thinking.
Tips before you start
- Each character should want something different in the scene.
- Cut greetings and small talk unless they reveal something.
- Let silence and action beats do some of the talking.
Forge new ones with AI
Add a topic and get five fresh dialogue prompts written for it.
AI output is generated by openai/gpt-6-luna via Vercel AI Gateway. It can be wrong or odd; the prompt lists on this page work without it.
Questions writers ask
What is subtext in dialogue?
Subtext is the meaning beneath the words: what a character actually wants or feels but does not say directly. Readers infer it from word choice, evasions and actions.
How do I make dialogue sound natural?
Read it aloud, use contractions, let people interrupt and dodge questions, and trim the filler that real speech contains.