Had a beta reader tell me my dialogue was 'too perfect' and it changed how I write conversations

She said real people interrupt, trail off, and use filler words, but my characters always finished clean sentences. I started writing dialogue with stutters and overlaps and suddenly my scenes felt alive. Which side do you fall on - clean dialogue or messy realism?

2 comments

2 Comments

abby_black5d ago

Right, it's basically the same thing as how people talk in real life versus how they talk in meetings or interviews. Everyone's got this public voice that's all polished and then there's the real messy one with "um" and "like" and people finishing each other's sentences. Once you notice that split, you can't unsee it, and it makes the polished version sound fake as hell.

clairem474d ago

Polished version sounds fake as hell" - yeah that pretty much nails it. It's just corporate drag at that point.