: Re: How to write natural-sounding dialogue? Writing dialogue for my novel has proved to be more of a challenge than I anticipated. It all seems clunky and unnatural. Any tips for writing natural

@Kristi637

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You have to really love conversation and the way people talk to write good dialog. So doing a lot more close listening is a good start.
One thing you'll notice is that people are very rarely direct in their communication. There's a ton of context and allusions, hidden meanings, repressed emotions and so forth. So you want to make sure your characters aren't too direct in their dialog, or it will sound clunky and too on-the-nose.
Conflict also helps a lot. Conversations where people agree too much sound fake. And real people tend to talk past each other. Realistic conversation has a lot of seeming non-sequiturs.

Her: It's such a beautiful day!
Him: Is it?
Her: Geez, when did you turn into such an old man?
Him: Careful, you're not that far behind me.
Her: That's a lie, you robbed the cradle when you met me.

That's what real conversation sounds like. Trivial on the surface, but there's a lot boiling underneath. Even in everyday smalltalk, people have hopes, fears, goals, schemes, vulnerabilities and so forth.

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