I couldn't find an answer for this either, but what does it mean when someone says the dialogue was stilted? I'm unfamiliar with what stilted means in relation to dialogue. Could someone give me an example of stilted dialogue?
Think of it like trying to squeeze in too much information into a characters dialogue. It feels formal and unnatural and therefore doesn't flow when you read it.
Example:
Stilted:
"I went to the dry cleaners to pick up that cream cashmere sweater that you accidentally spilt rosé wine on last weekend. They informed me that, despite their best efforts, they could not get the stain out."
Normal:
"I went by the dry cleaners to collect that cream sweater you spilt wine on, but they said they couldn't get the stain out."
I couldn't find an answer for this either, but what does it mean when someone says the dialogue was stilted? I'm unfamiliar with what stilted means in relation to dialogue. Could someone give me an example of stilted dialogue?
I could probably invent one, but it would come across as "stilted". What the term basically means is forced, unnatural, artificial.
It happens when a writer is trying tooooooo hard to be "writerly", or when a writer is trying to force information down the throat of the reader through dialogue among characters.
caw
It happens when a writer is trying tooooooo hard to be "writerly", or when a writer is trying to force information down the throat of the reader through dialogue among characters.
I couldn't find an answer for this either, but what does it mean when someone says the dialogue was stilted? I'm unfamiliar with what stilted means in relation to dialogue. Could someone give me an example of stilted dialogue?
It's not natural.
"So, Roger, I see that you are coming in the door."
"Yes, indeed, Michael. And you are sitting at your desk, apparently working on your income taxes."
"Must you always address me by name every time you speak, Roger?"
"No, Michael, it might be nicer if we just omitted first names."
"But Roger, our readers might forget whose turn it is to talk."
Even more natural:
"I went to the cleaners to pick up that sweater."
"What sweater?"
"The cashmere one you spilled wine on."
"So you got it?"
"Yeah, but they said they couldn't get the stain out."