I've been reading a lot of blogs lately that are discussing the importance of dialogue. Show of hands, how many of you have--on occasion--skimmed a book's narration and just gotten to the good stuff... you know, the dialogue? *raises hand*

Well, I think that's proof that dialogue is a huge part of any book. Now I typically write in first person, which allows my MC's voice to come through in all parts of the story, but what about the other characters? And what about stories told in third person?

I'm currently revising my WIP and one of my many revisions involves reading dialogue to make sure the characters' voices shine through. I've been known to pick out random lines, read them aloud, and guess who said it. Why? If I know immediately who said it, then the character's voice is strong enough. If I have to guess who said it or I'm wrong, then I didn't do a good job.

Now, this doesn't work 100% of the time. There are some things that any character could say. For instance. "What?" That's pretty general and maybe I'd have to go to the next line or  see what the character does when he/she says "What?" to figure out who it is, but it shouldn't take "Holly said" for me to figure it out. In some cases, the next line of dialogue will clue me in. "What? Oh no, no, no, no. Not going to happen." (This is not an actual line from my WIP by the way. It's just off the top of my head.) Now, I get a feel for the character's voice. See what I mean?

How do you make sure your dialogue is working and your characters' voices are shining through?