What's the key to good dialogue, /lit/?

>>9006813
listen. be thoughtful. always say what you think. be respectful.

a joke is a joke, it's not lack of respect.

there are a lot of keys.

>>9006829
I meant in writing, b-but thanks... anon...

>>9006838
right.

you're not getting a satisfactory answer, I think.

>>9006813
Make sure all the characters talk in the same trite quippy way so that your reader knows just how clever you are.

>>9006838
You just write out dialogue. Like real people talk. You, just think about this, you write out dialogue that sounds the same as how real dialogue sounds. Don't do what shit authors do and make your characters speak memetically.

Every bit of dialogue should exemplify the character perfectly. Read Shakespeare for example.

>>9006909
But not everything I say exemplifies me perfectly. How then can everything a character says exemplify them perfectly?

Gaddis was god tier at dialogue. Study how he writes different characters talking. Each one has noticeably different 'talking' styles.

>>9006916
that post is bullshit. not every word needs to be a perfect synecdoche for a character's personality. In fact, I think too much of that would be grating. But it's good if you can tell who a character is just by listening to isolated snippets of their dialogue.

Playing Uncharted 4, the masterpiece of video game writing, I started to think about this topic and came to a realization. Good dialogue sounds engaging and natural, real, but it's not realistic per se. Being realistic should not be the goal. Because, let's be frank, people are dull and actual conversations are fucking boring most of the time.

Good dialogue continuously goes over the line of "normal", takes everything a step or two further from the expected, while still sustaining the impression that it's real people talking. It's a delicate balance, really. If you go too far, it ends up being comical and ruins the credibility of the story. But if you don't go far enough, it just becomes a chore to read.

Dialogue is generally fast-paced and therefore characters will say things without thinking too hard.

Characters don't give perfect answers, they give shitty answers because of time restraint.

In my opinion once you realize this you'll probably understand how to write realistic dialogue, though whether you want realism is up to you.

>>9006925
Gaddis has DeLillo-tier dialogue

>>9007224
>Characters don't give perfect answers, they give shitty answers because of time restraint.

That doesn't make for good reading though

>>9007276
In my opinion the real thinking should occur either before or after the dialogue.

Dialogue is just meant to be a mad scramble and the climax. Rising tension comes before and after.

>>9006813
more than 1 person