How to Write Realistic Dialogue

Dialogue is one of the quickest ways to pull a reader into a story — or pull them out of it. When it works, it feels effortless. When it doesn’t, it sounds stiff, unnatural, or overly tidy.

Realistic dialogue isn’t a transcript of everyday speech. It’s a carefully crafted illusion of how people talk.

Listen to How People Speak

Real conversations are full of interruptions, trailing thoughts, and emotional rhythm. Pay attention to pacing and cadence — what people say is important, but how they say it is even more revealing.

Use Dialogue to Show, Not Tell

Instead of explaining emotions, let word choice and subtext reveal them. A character might say “I’m fine,” but the reader should know they’re not.

Trim the Excess

People don’t greet each other with long pleasantries during emotional moments. They don’t recount information the other person already knows. Good dialogue cuts small talk and keeps the emotional core.

Let Silence Speak

Not every moment needs a reply. A pause, a gesture, or a character walking away can say more than a paragraph.

Realistic dialogue reflects conflict, affection, misunderstanding, vulnerability, and connection — all the messy things that make relationships interesting.

At Astralumen Press, we’re drawn to dialogue that feels like eavesdropping on real lives — intimate, imperfect, and full of meaning.