Question about a conversation that changed how I write dialogue

My mom called me last Tuesday after reading a short story I sent her. She said my characters all sound like they're giving speeches instead of actually talking to each other. She pointed out a line where my character says 'I appreciate your candor' and asked if I've ever heard anyone talk like that in real life. Has anyone else had a family member call them out on something specific in their writing and had it actually make them rethink their whole approach?

2 comments

2 Comments

holly_williams1mo ago

Fair point, real people don't talk like Wikipedia articles.

barbarahill1mo ago

@holly_williams you're so right lol. I've seen it happen way too often where people try to sound smart and it just comes off fake. Best advice I ever got was to just type like you're talking to a buddy over coffee.