People usually try to be relevant and say things that pertain to the conversation.
Your character should only be talking about things that have to do with what they would be logically be talking/thinking about in that conversation. It doesn’t make sense for them to talk about their father’s death ten years ago with their friend unless something happened to bring up memories of the father. The father’s death may be very important to the story and something that you want to share with the reader. But unless it comes up naturally in conversation, find another way to include it.
This idea of relevance can also be used to imply something. If one character says “You look beautiful,” and the other responds, “Hey, this food is really good” it implies that the second person was uncomfortable or flustered with the compliment or did not want to receive it. Otherwise they would have said something more relevant to the compliment.
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He Said, She Said: Dialogue Tips
Non-FictionIf a book has really good dialogue, you may not notice because it flows so naturally. But if you're reading a book with poorly written dialogue, it will probably feel awkward. It may even feel painful. You may not want to continue reading. You don't...
