stardust-andwine

rivendellrose:

americanphancakes:

deborahthejudge5777:

fountainfinity:

things people do in real world dialogue:

• laugh at their own jokes

• don’t finish/say complete sentences

• interrupt a line of thought with a sudden new one

• say ‘uh’ between words when unsure

• accidentally blend multiple words together, and may start the sentence over again

• repeat filler words such as ‘like’ ‘literally’ ‘really’ ‘anyways’ and ‘i think’

• begin and/or end sentences with phrases such as ‘eh’ and ‘you know’, and may make those phrases into question form to get another’s input

• repeat words/phrases when in an excited state

• words fizzle out upon realizing no one is listening

• repeat themselves when others don’t understand what they’re saying, as well as to get their point across

• reply nonverbally such as hand gestures, facial expressions, random noises, movement, and even silence

Excellent sticky note for dialogue writing in fiction. 

All of this. I get a lot of compliments on my dialogue and this list pretty much covers what I do (but some of it, I didn’t even realize I did, lol). I highly recommend reading your dialogue aloud (or imagining it in realtime like a movie scene) to see if it feels natural, which is what I do when editing.

First, let me put on my transcriptionist hat and say you’re damned right they do all of that (and it’s annoying as fuck when you’re trying to transcribe an interview). 

Second, let me put on my editor hat and say that this kind of thing should be used very carefully in writing. A little for characterization is good. But dialogue in a book (or TV show, or whatever) is not at its best when it’s 100% naturalistic exactly as it happens in real life, if for no other reason than that 90% of conversations in real life are, frankly, pretty boring. 

ABSOLUTELY read your dialogue out loud to hear if it sounds natural. Absolutely listen to how people really talk and try duplicate that in practice pieces. Then dial it back at least a few steps when you’re doing writing that you actually want people to read, because a lot of ums and uhs and repeated words or phrases are totally realistic, but also super annoying to dig through while you’re reading dialogue in a book. Use it for effect, not just to be realistic.