Common Dialogue Mistakes

Common dialogue mistakes

Are you making any of these common dialogue mistakes? Read the post to find out what they are and how you can quickly fix them.

Does dialogue feel like a struggle? Here are the most common mistakes I see writers make that have their dialogue falling flat.

👉 The length of a single line

Less is more, and this is very true for dialogue. The quicker you can get your point across, the punchier the dialogue will read.

A lot of the time if you feel your dialogue dragging, you may be repeating points that you’ve already said.

👉 No unique character voices

A big web to untangle, but ask yourself this: If I left out dialogue and action tags entirely, would my readers still be able to tell who’s speaking?

If yes, that’s when you know you have a strong and unique character voice.

The worst thing you can do is make all your characters sound the same, or just like you.

👉 Exposition everywhere

Using dialogue as a means to lay down exposition or explanation can come off very cringy to readers.

Would these characters realistically say that to each other, if you didn’t need the reader to know?

When in doubt, trust that your readers can take hints and fill in gaps. Always write from the head of your character first.

👉Trying to be too realistic

Adding in too many pauses, elipses, ums, uhhs, and errs can get tiring very quickly, especially if every single character does this.

Yes, most people speak like that, but fictional dialogue is stronger the punchier and tighter you keep it.

👉 The white room syndrome

Sometimes writers get so involved in the dialogue and scene that they forget to lay out the setting or tell the readers what’s happening around your characters.

This leaves no image in your readers’ heads, and makes your writing feel non-immersive.

Use the setting, background people, and props to enhance the scene.

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

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___

Based on the song United in Grief by Kendrick Lamar

Rating: Not Rated

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, Gen

Fandom: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)

Relationships: Michelle Jones/Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Michelle Jones & Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan & Peter Parker

Characters: Peter Parker, Michelle Jones, Ned Leeds, Happy Hogan

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Words: 1,085

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