That moment I realized I was killing all my characters with perfect dialogue

I was writing this scene for a horror story where two friends are arguing in a basement, and I had them talking all proper and complete sentences... like nobody ever interrupts or trails off. Then I overheard my neighbor and her husband arguing about a broken lawnmower, and they were finishing each other's sentences wrong and cutting each other off. That's when it clicked - my dialogue sounded like a textbook, not real people talking. Has anyone else had to unlearn "proper" writing and start writing actual messy human speech?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_mitchell10d ago

Man, 100 percent. I had a scene where two siblings were fighting over a car and it read like a job interview. Then I sat in a diner and listened to a couple argue about ketchup packets. Total game changer. Real people are way messier.

campbell.david10d ago

@ray_mitchell absolutely nailed it. I overheard two guys fighting over a parking spot and stole their exact words. Gold.