History Main / RealisticDictionisUnrealistic

In fiction, characters always communicate in well-formed sentences, and everyone takes their turn. Sometimes they go further and speak with Creator/WilliamShakespeare-like eloquence, using [[TalksLikeASimile similes]] and metaphors that most people in real life aren't clever enough to come up with on the spot or even at all. They never stumble over their words or say the wrong thing ([[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail unless it's important to the plot]]). Even "realistic" dialogue is relatively free of errors and padding. It's almost as if it was written by a professional.

In fiction, characters always communicate in well-formed sentences, and everyone takes their turn. Sometimes they go further and speak with Creator/WilliamShakespeare-like eloquence, using [[TalksLikeASimile similes]] and metaphors that most people in real life aren't clever enough to come up with on the spot or even at all. They never stumble over their words or say the wrong thing (unless it's important to the plot). Even "realistic" dialogue is relatively free of errors and padding. It's almost as if it was written by a professional.

Note that this trope is an AcceptableBreakFromReality; real dialogue can be unreadable. Journalists know that anyone can be made to look stupid in an interview simply by exactly writing down their speech, word for word. Verbal imperfections that we automatically filter out face-to-face become grating and irritating when written down. [[note]]A detailed exploration of this can be found [[http://gavthorpe.co.uk/2008/05/07/realism-is-fake/ here]].[[/note]] We enjoy the fruits of script-writing and acting more when they are free to be polished. Part of the reason is to make speech come across [[RealityIsUnrealistic the way it's heard]] [[RuleOfPerception rather than the way it is]]; humans are well-adapted to interpret speech, and as a result, what we experience is an interpretation of speech rather than a recording of it. Also falls under TheLawOfConservationOfDetail -- because the time it takes for a character to correct themselves could be used for more dialogue.

* The ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP'' has this for the most part, outside of the occasional dramatic speech; even the writing (including the text of the L'Manburg "Decree of Independance") has multiple grammatical mistakes. Although the roleplay plotlines are often planned and outlined, the dialogue is mostly unscripted and improvised, so the realistic diction is a natural result of this.

* As a natural consequence of its eccentric approach to dialouge, ''WesternAnimation/12ozMouse'''s dialouge does not generally concern itself with sounding professional, and thus stutters, pauses, and the like are commonplace.