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Bumped into a retired librarian at the thrift store who changed how I write dialogue
She grabbed a beat-up copy of *The Sun Also Rises* off the shelf and said, 'Hemingway lets his characters talk past each other, that's real life.' Now I go back to that every time my dialogue feels too on the nose, has anyone else had a random stranger drop a writing tip on them like that?
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willowr963d ago
That librarian basically just told you to let your characters ignore each other. Masterclass.
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the_robin3d ago
Letting characters ignore each other is exactly what makes dialogue feel real. People miss important moments all the time in actual conversations, and writers try too hard to make every exchange land perfectly. A good scene lets tension build because characters are busy being distracted, not constantly reacting to plot clues.
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betty_perry243d ago
Read a writing blog that said real conversations are 60% people talking past each other and 40% actual connection. Crazy how much that changed my approach to dialogue.
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