Why Your Dialogue Sounds Stiff (One Edit Fixes It)

New authors often suspect their dialogue needs improvement. They sense the rhythm is off, even when the grammar checks out and punctuation is in the right places. Somehow, characters’ lines still feel wooden.

Even more frustrating, the usual fixes often miss the mark. Trimming dialogue tags, swapping synonyms, and sprinkling in gestures doesn’t solve the core issue.

Because the problem does not begin at the sentence level. Stiff dialogue comes from characters speaking for the author instead of for themselves.

Let’s be honest: Some authors write characters only to deliver information. But every character who speaks should do more than clarify plot points, deliver backstory, or otherwise hold the reader’s hand. Such burdensome dialogue drains life from the exchange.

Real people do not talk that way; they speak to pursue their own ends. That means each line in a conversation should advance the speaker’s goals.

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