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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45667
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

> What techniques can I use to ensure my characters talk in a way that's neither too bookish, nor too literal?

**Read more!** Read books written in a plain style, with no purple prose or that rely a lot on rare words. You'll pick up that plain, dry style, and you'll be able to use it in your own writing. You could be interested in [Hemingway](https://www.fadedpage.com/books/20141070/html.php), from what I've seen he uses a very plain style, with terse descriptions, and relies heavily on short, almost child-like dialogue.

**Practice simplifying dense prose**. Try taking some dense, verbose prose, and put it in simpler terms. For example, take this passage from _Dagon_ by Lovecraft:

> Though one might well imagine that my first sensation would be of wonder at so prodigious and unexpected a transformation of scenery, I was in reality more horrified than astonished; for there was in the air and in the rotting soil a sinister quality which chilled me to the very core.

This is my attempt at dumbing down the language without changing the ideas:

> The change in the scenery was so unexpected, that my first reaction wasn't amazement, but terror. There was something in the air, and in the rotting soil, something that managed to deeply unset me.

Same principle applies to dialogue: how can you say something in simpler terms, without changing the meaning?

**Improvise.** Finally, don't overthink dialogue when you're writing. The more you do, the more likely you are to end up with over-embellished lines that don't sound natural at all.

Write down the first thing that comes to mind, as if you were actually talking to someone. Maybe take out an inanimate object (such as a [rubber duck](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging)), and talk to it.

Write your improvised idea down. Then let it simmer in your head (you know how you always think of the best comeback after the discussion is over?) until you come up with a better version. Of course, by "better" I mean make it wittier, tighter, funnier, etc... -- "how do I make it more complicated?" should be the last thing you should ask yourself.

This quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is very relevant:

> Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

* * *

**Online tools to measure text complexity and word frequency.** Since I've written this answer, it has occurred to me that there are two tools you can use to measure the complexity of your text, and decrease it.

The first one is [**text readability calculators**](https://www.online-utility.org/english/readability_test_and_improve.jsp). As the site puts it:

> In general, these tests penalize writers for polysyllabic words and long, complex sentences. Your writing will score better when you: use simpler diction, write short sentences.

The second one is [**word frequency lists**](https://www.wordandphrase.info/analyzeText.asp). You input a word, and they tell you how (un)common that word is. The interface on this website is a bit clunky, but it does a nice job at highlighting uncommon words.

Original score: 6