Writing.Com General Discussion

I haven't read any of your prose, so this might be the entirely wrong sort of advice for you, but here are my two cents on the issue.

The number one reason I see with dialouge (both my own, here on WdC in general, and when I read slush) is that it doesn't have any tension/conflict. It doesn't have to be a shouting match. It can be something subtle. Generally, though, dialogue works best if the characters speaking are in opposition in some way. If not, the dialogue tends to come across as flat.

As Gaby said, the dialogue should move the story forward. Though, one should also be careful the dialogue isn't just there to deliver exposition. That's another sure way to make it flat and boring. The dialogue should fit the characters and the situation they're in while being relevant to the story.

And, yes, it's totally fine to write bad dialogue and try to fix it in editing. Sometimes it's easier that way too.