Tips for writing realistic dialogue?

[Christian Writer]

What are your tips for writing realistic dialogue?

How do I make my characters not sound so scripted?

[Matthew Brown]

What works for me is to say the things out loud and then write down what I say. Other than that, I don’t worry about it for the first draft. After that, though, it is more art than science. Natural speech is filled with “um” and “ah” and half-completed thoughts. Generally, writers filter all of that actual talking non-sense to make the book easier to read.

My advice is not to worry too much about it while you get the story told.

[Bob Bobson]

My best character conversations are based on listening to people talking. I ride the train to work and spend most of the time listening to the other passengers and taking notes.

[Author]

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