Have you ever listened to a recording of an actual conversation between two people? If so, you’re probably aware that “real” dialogue doesn’t sound authentic. If you pasted the words of that recording into your novel, you would risk losing observant readers. In fiction, credibility isn’t boosted by fact. Fiction should be an artful interpretation of reality.

But how can a writer make dialogue sound credible if real conversation doesn’t? Unless your work is primarily narrative, you need the writerly muscles that produce engaging, believable conversation.

First, read your conversations aloud. (Actually, it’s good advice to read everything you write aloud.) Develop an ear for the off-notes, such as incidents of excessive articulation: “I have done what you had previously asked that I would do.” Be conscious of contractions and their absence where they ought to be. Constructions such as “I am going,” in the absence of a purpose for that meticulous form of speech, should instead be simply, “I’m going.”

Second, never have one character tell another something that individual already knows. This is a freshman mistake. Think about it. You wouldn’t say to your mother, for example, “When you had me in December of 2011, you almost didn’t make it to Second Rate Hospital in time.” Find some other way to get vital information into the narrative.

Third, dialogue doesn’t always involve complete sentences. A great deal of it consists of, “Last year.” and “That month we spent in Phoenix.” and “So?” and “Well?” “Uh” is useful, but only now and then, unless your character stutters. In recorded conversations, you’ll hear a great many utterances of “uh.”

Fourth, have sentences that break off. Few people consistently pre-conceive of exactly what they’re going to say. Often they begin a sentence only to break away to take a different direction. “I told her we—damn, I screwed up.”

Fifth, be certain the dialogue you write is essential to advancing the plot or developing the characters. Dull exchanges that aren’t meant to convey the dullness of the situation or the people merely bore the reader. And keep in mind that there must be a distinction between conveying a sense of boredom in the book and boring your reader in actuality.

Sixth, pay attention to how each of your characters speak. Do they have conversational tics? If they all sound the same, they aren’t distinctive enough to be interesting. Conversational tics include themes that obsess a character and phrases that repeatedly occur (such as teenagers saying “like” as in “She was like ‘I’m not going,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I’m not going by myself.’” A character might be passive or circuitous in expressing herself. Certain words can attach to an individual. You probably have friends who repeatedly use a particular word such as “totally” or “man” or “cool.” Their choice of vocabulary conveys important information about  the people you’re creating. Above all, believe in the dialogue you write. Don’t force it. If a character refuses to say something you want him to say, drop it. The best advice any writer ever gets is “Murder your darlings.” When you feel something you’ve written is too precious or brilliant or true, strongly consider killing it. What you remove often does more for your story than what you include.