Finally figured out why my dialogue sounded so fake after 50+ short stories

I was critiquing someone else's piece in my writers group last Tuesday and kept pointing out how no one talks like that. Then it hit me like a brick - my characters all sound like they're delivering speeches instead of actually talking. The tipping point was reading back a scene where two friends were arguing and I realized they were using full names and complete sentences. Has anyone else had that moment where you suddenly see your own bad habit reflected in someone else's writing?

2 comments

2 Comments

mila3951mo ago

Had a buddy who wrote a whole novel where his characters kept addressing each other by name every other line. Like "Well Sarah, I think we should go to the store." and "You know John, that's a terrible idea." Told him to just read it out loud and he almost deleted the whole thing on the spot.

keith9431mo ago

Tbh I'm shocked he didn't realize that sooner, that's like writing 101 level stuff.