Why Your Dialogue Sounds Fake

The Hardest Skill in Fiction

Dialogue looks easy. People talk all day; how hard can it be to write conversations? Then you try it, and every line sounds like a robot reading a script. Your characters explain too much, say exactly what they mean, and sound interchangeable from one speaker to the next.

Great dialogue is the hardest skill in fiction because it must accomplish contradictory goals simultaneously: it must sound natural while being more purposeful than real speech, reveal character while advancing plot, and create the illusion of spontaneity through careful craft.

What Dialogue Actually Does

Every line of dialogue in your story should accomplish at least one of these purposes—ideally two or three:

• Reveal character: How someone speaks tells us who they are
• Advance plot: Conversations should change situations
• Create conflict: Characters should want different things
• Convey information: But never in an obvious, expository way
• Establish relationships: How characters speak to each other shows their dynamic
• Control pacing: Dialogue speeds up; description slows down

Lines that accomplish none of these purposes should be cut. “Hello,” “How are you,” and “Goodbye” rarely earn their place on the page.

The Difference Between Real Speech and Good Dialogue

Record any actual conversation and transcribe it. You’ll find:

• Constant interruptions and false starts
• Ums, ahs, and verbal fillers
• Repetition and circling back
• Incomplete sentences and trailing thoughts
• Long stretches of meaningless exchange

Real speech is boring on the page. Good dialogue creates the impression of real speech while eliminating everything that makes actual conversation tedious. It’s heightened reality—more focused, more purposeful, more interesting than life, while still feeling true.

The Art of Compression

In life, it takes twenty minutes of small talk before people discuss anything meaningful. In fiction, you skip to the meaningful part. Your characters can meet, exchange pleasantries, and reach the heart of the matter in three lines:

“You came.” She didn’t look up from her drink.

“You asked me to.”

“I asked you a year ago.”

We understand instantly: there’s history here, there’s tension, someone waited too long. No need to show the phone call, the drive over, the greeting at the door.

Creating Distinct Voices

Readers should be able to identify your characters without dialogue tags. Each voice should be distinct enough that “he said” becomes almost unnecessary.

Elements of Voice

Vocabulary: A professor and a plumber use different words. An optimist and a pessimist describe the same situation differently. Education, profession, region, generation—all affect word choice.

Sentence structure: Some people speak in complete paragraphs. Others in fragments. Some pile clause upon clause; others favor simple declarations.

Rhythm: Read your dialogue aloud. Each character should have a different cadence, a different music to their speech.

What they don’t say: A character who never mentions their ex-spouse reveals as much as one who can’t stop talking about them.

The Character Voice Worksheet

For each major character, consider:

• What topics do they avoid?
• What phrases do they repeat?
• Do they speak in questions or statements?
• Are they direct or evasive?
• Do they use humor defensively?
• What makes them interrupt others?
• How do they express anger? Affection? Fear?

Subtext: What’s Really Being Said

The most powerful dialogue happens beneath the surface. Characters rarely say what they actually mean—they hint, deflect, attack sideways, protect themselves with words while revealing themselves through action.

Consider this exchange:

“Did you eat the last of the pasta?”

“I was hungry.”

“I was saving that.”

“You’re always saving things.”

This isn’t about pasta. It’s about a relationship where one person feels the other is selfish, while the other feels controlled. The pasta is the surface; the subtext is the meaning.

Creating Subtext

Before writing a scene, know:

• What does each character want from this conversation?
• What does each character want to hide?
• What’s the power dynamic between them?
• What aren’t they saying?

Then write the scene with characters talking around those things. Let them discuss weather, work, anything but the real issue—while the real issue throbs beneath every line.

Dialogue Tags and Action Beats

The Case for “Said”

“Said” is invisible. Readers’ eyes skip over it, registering only who spoke. “Exclaimed,” “declared,” “questioned,” “growled”—these call attention to themselves, slowing the reading and often telling readers what the dialogue should show.

Use “said” and occasionally “asked.” Use other tags sparingly and only when the manner of speaking isn’t clear from context.

Action Beats

Action beats—small physical movements attached to dialogue—can replace tags while adding dimension:

“I’m fine.” She rearranged the items on her desk, not meeting his eyes.

No tag needed. The action tells us who spoke and how.

Action beats also control pacing. Quick exchanges speed up scenes; action beats slow them down, creating pauses, building tension, allowing readers to breathe.

Common Dialogue Mistakes

“As You Know, Bob”

Characters explaining things they both already know for the reader’s benefit:

“As you know, Bob, we’ve worked at this company for fifteen years, ever since the merger that combined our family businesses…”

No one talks like this. Find organic ways to convey necessary information—or accept that readers don’t need as much information as you think.

On-the-Nose Dialogue

Characters saying exactly what they feel:

“I’m angry at you because you betrayed my trust when you lied about the money.”

Real people don’t announce their emotions with this precision. They say, “Where’d you park the car?” and slam cabinet doors. The emotion shows through action; it rarely states itself directly.

Talking Heads

Long exchanges with no physical grounding—readers lose track of the scene. Anchor dialogue in setting. Let characters interact with their environment. Show us the coffee shop, the nervous gesture, the rain against windows.

Dialogue as Conflict

The most compelling dialogue scenes involve conflict. Not necessarily argument, but characters wanting different things, pulling in different directions.

Before writing any conversation, identify the conflicting wants. Even friendly exchanges gain energy when one character wants to leave and another wants them to stay, or one wants to discuss something the other wants to avoid.

Conflict doesn’t require raised voices. Some of the tensest dialogue happens in whispers.

Exercises for Stronger Dialogue

Eavesdrop: Listen to conversations in public. Note how people interrupt, trail off, change subjects. Note the gaps between what they say and what they mean.

Write without tags: Draft a scene using only dialogue—no tags, no action beats, no description. If readers can’t tell who’s speaking, your voices aren’t distinct enough.

The translation exercise: Write the same conversation between a professor and a truck driver, then between two teenagers, then between an elderly couple. Same information, different voices.

Subtext practice: Write a breakup scene where neither character uses the word “breakup,” “leaving,” or “over.” They discuss other things while ending their relationship.

The Goal: Dialogue That Disappears

Like all good craft, mastered dialogue becomes invisible. Readers don’t notice the technique—they just hear voices, feel tension, and understand characters through what they say and don’t say.

That invisibility requires enormous skill. It means every word counts, every voice is distinct, every exchange advances the story while feeling effortlessly real.

The only way to develop this skill is practice. Write dialogue badly, study dialogue that works, and keep writing until your characters start speaking for themselves.