: Re: How do we know if a dialogue sounds unnatural without asking for feedback? I wrote a dialogue, but I am not sure if it sounds natural. I try to keep dialogue super simple so that it doesn't

I often stumble apon the same issue.

+1 for Cyn, because reading the dialog out loud is one of the tools you can and should use to make it sound more natural.

If I get the feeling that something might be off I read the dialog completely without any dialog tags or actions in between and ask myself the following:

Is the said building up logically?
Can I differ between the involved characters simply by the tone of the dialog?
Would I feel uncomfortable if this was a real conversation and my buddy would answer me in that way?

This list makes no pretence to be complete, but I hope you get the idea of what I'm trying to say.

Another thing you can do is - in regard to your example - to stretch the dialog a bit by action in between. You say

I am not sure, but laughing and then saying goodbye immediately sounds unnatural

and you are right. If this was a real conversation I would be more then a bit irritated. But if you put a little break in there it becomes automatically more natural (note: English is not my prefered langugae for prose so please be gentle)

"Haha, yeah right. I'll be around the neighborhood if you need me." He sighed deeply and the two of them for a while sat silently side by side, gazing into the nightsky. "I might have to leave by the end of the month", he claimed as he stood up. "So call me if you want to hang out, okay?"

Load Full (0)

: How can I create deep personal stakes? Note: This question deals exclusively with personal stakes (what the character could lose). It does not deal with public stakes (what the world of the

@Heady158

Load Full 2 Comments

: Scale: How to handle a personal story set in an epic war? In both my last writing project and my current one, I have found an unexpected problem. Both tales are focused on a single character

@Heady158

Load Full 1 Comments

: Using third-person character interactions to create a relatable hook for a Character that is unrelatable? So, I am writing a story based around a character that has the personality of a Computer.

@Heady158

Load Full 1 Comments

: Is this allowed to use the name of Templar and other Order like Teutonic, Santiago, Hospitaler, etc as my fiction story? i'm new here, but i really want to make a question about using real

: Re: How do we know if a dialogue sounds unnatural without asking for feedback? I wrote a dialogue, but I am not sure if it sounds natural. I try to keep dialogue super simple so that it doesn't

More posts by @Heady158

: How can I create deep personal stakes? Note: This question deals exclusively with personal stakes (what the character could lose). It does not deal with public stakes (what the world of the

: Scale: How to handle a personal story set in an epic war? In both my last writing project and my current one, I have found an unexpected problem. Both tales are focused on a single character

: Using third-person character interactions to create a relatable hook for a Character that is unrelatable? So, I am writing a story based around a character that has the personality of a Computer.

: Is this allowed to use the name of Templar and other Order like Teutonic, Santiago, Hospitaler, etc as my fiction story? i'm new here, but i really want to make a question about using real

Login to post a comment!

0 Comments

Back to top