Good Dialoge

[u/Available-Capital883]

A very specific pet peeve I have that also made me realise what makes a fic REALLY good to me

Okay, bear with me because this is weirdly specific and I’m not sure I’m going to explain it properly 🫪

I’ve realised that one of my biggest pet peeves in fic is when the dialogue/conversation doesn’t flow. Like, when it doesn’t actually feel like a real conversation. The pacing feels off,banter or there are huge blocks of dialogue that feel like monologues, or the characters are basically just taking turns delivering information.

I’m one of those readers who basically experiences a fic like a movie playing in my head. I can hear the voices, imagine the facial expressions, picture the characters moving around, etc. So when the dialogue and scene construction are really good, the “movie” in my head jut kinda play?! Everything moves naturally from one thing to the next. There’s a rhythm to it.

But when the dialogue is awkwardly paced or there isn’t enough description/action around it, my imaginary movie basically starts like stuttering….Like I can’t quite picture how the scene is supposed to move from A to B.

And I LOVE when authors sprinkle in those little descriptions during conversations. Not huge paragraphs of exposition, just things like what someone does with their face, how they move, where they’re looking, someone interrupting, pausing, leaning against something, rolling their eyes, etc. That kind of “blocking” makes the whole scene so easy to visualise.

I also enjoy plenty of fics where this isn’t particularly prominent, so I’m absolutely not saying that a fic is bad if it doesn’t do this! I read and enjoy plenty of fics where the dialogue isn’t this kind of immersive. But when an author does have this particular quality, I realise I enjoy the fic SO much more.

I’m currently reading A Soft Place to Fall by amomori, and they are doing this SO well. I barely have to consciously imagine anything because it just plays out in my head.
And now I’m wondering if anyone else knows exactly what I mean ?! 🥹

If you do, PLEASE give me recs for Drarry fics where the dialogue/conversations have this really natural, flowy, almost cinematic quality.

I’m pretty open to everything but I generally don’t read anything under ~70–80k words. Otherwise, throw whatever you have at me!

I know Rookie Moves has this quality for me, and I feel like basically everything I’ve read by lettereddoes too. There are definitely other fics I’ve read where I’ve had the same feeling, but of course my brain is refusing to come up with any of them right now 😂

Also, if you’ve read A Soft Place to Fall and know exactly what I mean by this, PLEASE tell me I’m not alone in noticing it because I feel like I’m describing something incredibly abstract 🙂❤️

[u/Logical_Cookie_2318]

sideraclara's fics have great dialogue - Outpace the Dawn is the most recent one, but I would recommend all of them.

[u/the_lunar_elf]

I know exactly what you mean.

From love, obviously by bizarrestars falls short of your word requirement at 52k but is a masterful example of banter. Totally worth it.

I also think bluskyereign’s two fics What he holds in his hand (complete) and When the devil chooses wrong (wip) have really great dialogue that actually fits the ages of the characters - it all flows and keeps you totally immersed.

[u/briezylouise → u/the_lunar_elf]

Seconding from love, obviously. An absolute masterclass in banter!!

[u/nothingsandeverthing]

Recently I read a byler fic and damn u arr right, what makes it really good at least for me is the play like thing and yeah the little descriptions of them just adds so much reality to it. Such a little thing,huge impact huh