The Economy of Dialogue

How Art Does Not Imitate Life

A guide on how to purify your characters’ conversations, stripping away the excess of real life in favor of narrative tension.

What is it?

Many beginning writers believe that good dialogue should sound exactly like everyday conversations. However, as the Watergate tapes proved, actual human speech is verbose, repetitive, full of digressions, and unfinished sentences. In fiction, art does not imitate life. Literary dialogue is a rigorously edited illusion: it sounds authentic precisely because it has been polished, revealing the essence of what characters mean to say without the “fat” of casual, everyday speech.

How to apply it to my short story?

Short and Sweet: The golden rule is to keep speeches short—ideally, one to three sentences per character exchange. This fosters clarity, creates a quick rhythm, and maintains the story’s momentum.
The Paradox of Good Dialogue: Write more directly and intensely than people actually speak. Every question, however benign, should demand a direct response or generate friction.
Omit greetings and salutations: Skip the “hellos”, “how are yous”, and “goodbyes”, especially in written phone conversations. Get straight to the dramatic core of the interaction.

⚠️ Common traps / What not to do

Verbal tics and filler words: Eliminate the equivalents of “like”, “you know”, “uh”, and “um”. Trying to simulate natural hesitation using these interjections only frustrates the reader. If you need to show hesitation, do it through sentence rhythm or a physical pause in the choreography of the scene.
Unnecessary repetition: Unless the repetition is highly intentional (to demonstrate deep disbelief or a moral challenge), repeating words dilutes the impact of the scene.
Endless monologues: Very long speeches ease the tension. If a character must deliver a monologue, ensure that each sentence brings a surprise or reveals something unexpected to keep the reader hooked.

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