A writing group in Portland told me my characters all sounded the same

Someone said 'Your detective talks like your baker, who talks like your astronaut.' I started giving each character a specific phrase they overuse. My baker now says 'fresh out the oven' for everything, good or bad. It made dialogue way easier to write. Has anyone else tried a trick like that to fix flat characters?

3 comments

3 Comments

kai77924d ago

Ugh, that just makes them all sound like cartoons.

vera_roberts24d ago

Yeah the "cartoons" thing is real, but honestly most people have a go-to phrase they lean on. My boss says "circle back" so much it's a drinking game now. It's just how people talk.

luna_wells5724d agoMost Upvoted

I mean, it's just dialogue, not a criminal trial.