As Fantasy writers, do you have any tips for how to make a novel's interactions feel more fleshed out?

[HonorableTakoyaki]

I'm thinking of writing a Fantasy Novel but for some reason, I feel as if it's lacking whenever I re-read it. Please don't hesitate to input your thoughts, I am open to anything as long as it can help me improve!

[cyborgmermaid]

Is there something specific you're having trouble with?

One piece of blind advice I can give is to make sure your characters are DOING things while having a conversation. It's hard for a lot of writers to remember but people don't tend to just stand there talking. Even if they're just having a regular conversation they touch their face, they shrug, their expressions change, they shift their weight from one foot to another, etc.

[HonorableTakoyaki]

Thanks for the advice!

A specific trouble huh? I'm not quite sure, but a trouble I have would be... I think I'm like most writers out there who think that their novel might be a little too boring which is why I sought advice. If I add their body language to the mix, I feel as if that would make imagining what my characters are doing much easier, thanks!

[Kaydreamer]

Act out your dialogue. Like, seriously act it out. Put on voices, speak with your character's accents, move your body the way they would move theirs, and do that over, and over, and over, and over... With each pass, the scene will get tighter, the dialogue will flow better, and you'll get more of a sense of how your characters stand, move, and how they're feeling.

That's my 'secret sauce' for believable dialogue, and dialogue is something which I'm complimented on frequently, so I'm dead certain it really helps.

[cherrystark]

Don't be too hard on yourself. One of the reasons your work might seem dull is that you've read it so much.

And like @cyborgmermaid said - make sure your characters are doing something. If you struggle visualizing it, watch two people have a conversation and study their body language. You can tell a lot about somebody even from something as simple as the position of their feet.

In regard to dialogue, if it sounds funny when you read it outloud, it sounds funny to your readers. Pay attention to the vocabulary you are using. Slang or even arachic terminology can make things difficult for your readers.

Most importantly. Trust your gut. You know how your story is supposed to be done.

[linaket]

If you mean specifically during dialogue scenes, I've shared a bunch of tips in this article for Tapas: https://tapas.io/newsfeed/181

[HonorableTakoyaki]

Thank you for this, I appreciate it!

[linaket]

No problem! There are actually quite a few really great articles by creators in the newsfeed, they're just hard to find if you don't know they're out there.

[TheCasualPlayer]

I know it's a very classical piece of advice but show don't tell. Often times because fantasy needs a lot of worldbuilding to have the readers understand the world and characters we often write info dumps into our conversations and this leads to it reading dull and boring. Additionally, like the advise of many on this thread there needs to be actions during conversation. Occasionally it can be a bit much and distracts the readers from what's being talked about in the dialogue so don't overdo it.

[HonorableTakoyaki]

That sounds good. I'll practice writing like that from now on!