What Makes YA Dialogue Feel Truly Authentic?
Writing great dialogue is tough no matter what you’re writing. But YA dialogue? That’s a whole different beast.
And it’s not because teens speak an entirely different language (though it sometimes feels like they do). It’s because in YA storytelling, dialogue has to carry enormous narrative and emotional weight—while sounding natural and unforced.
If we just mimic how teens actually talk, it’d be a slog to read. I once transcribed a real conversation between two 16-year-olds for an exercise: it was full of “like,” “um,” inside jokes, and completely disjointed thoughts. In other words: realistic, but unreadable in fiction.
So what makes YA dialogue feel authentic? Not a carbon copy of real speech, but dialogue that makes readers feel, “Yes, this is true to life.” Let’s break it down.
What Makes It Work (and Why)
Voice Over Verbatim
I can’t stress this enough: you’re writing voice, not a transcript.
Authenticity isn’t about copying the exact phrases teens use. It’s about capturing how they sound emotionally and cognitively.
For example, compare these two takes on the same moment:
Literal transcription:
“Um, yeah, so like I was gonna go? But then she, uh, texted me and, like, I don’t know? It was weird.”
Stylized YA dialogue:
“I was about to leave. Then she texted. Total curveball.”
The second version captures the vibe and tone without the filler. Readers get the feel of a teen’s internal rhythm, not the tedium of real speech.
Emotional Resonance
Teens aren’t always forthcoming in dialogue — and that’s where subtext shines. YA readers love picking up on what’s left unsaid.
In Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell doesn’t write pages of heartfelt confessions between her characters. Instead, a single exchanged glance or clipped line carries huge emotional resonance.
When Park says:
“You smell like vanilla.”
That’s loaded with vulnerability, longing, awkwardness—all under the surface.
Lesson: Build in subtext. Make readers lean in.
Context Is Everything
A teen in an urban LA high school isn’t going to sound like a kid from rural Vermont — and neither will a 14-year-old who spends her nights watching TikTok vs. one reading fanfic.
Contextual awareness is what separates “generic teen” from an individual character with voice and texture.
And trust me, YA readers can smell inauthenticity a mile away. If your gamer teen references 2012 memes, or your theater kid has no idea who Lin-Manuel Miranda is, they’ll roll their eyes.
Dialogue That Works for the Story
Here’s where the storytelling part comes in: great YA dialogue multitasks.
Think of Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give. The dialogue moves fast, sounds true to each character, and constantly reveals layers about race, class, and family dynamics — all while moving the plot forward.
If your dialogue is only there to sound cool or fill space, YA readers will skip it. Make it earn its keep.
Practical Tips for Sharpening Your YA Dialogue
Read the Best of the Best
There’s no shortcut here: read tons of current YA. Pay attention to how authors handle pacing, slang, emotional beats.
Study We Are Okay by Nina LaCour for quiet, aching dialogue.
Study One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus for tension-packed back-and-forths.
Listen to Actual Teen Voices
Podcasts. TikTok. YouTube vlogs. Real conversations.
But don’t copy them wholesale — use them to understand rhythm, humor, defensiveness, and flow.
Let Character Growth Shape Dialogue
YA is, by definition, about change. Your characters’ voices should reflect that.
At the start of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Simon’s dialogue is hesitant, self-effacing. By the end, he’s bolder and more self-aware. Same character, evolving voice.
Master Subtext
Try this exercise: write a scene where two characters say nothing directly about their feelings — but the reader knows exactly how they feel.
Then workshop it. Get feedback. Teens love scenes where they feel smart for picking up on the unspoken.
Skip the Slang Grab Bag
Don’t chase the latest lingo. It ages fast and can feel forced.
Instead, focus on:
- Sentence rhythm
- Humor style
- Personal tics (“you know what I mean?” vs. “seriously?” vs. “okay, but listen…”)
Read Your Dialogue Out Loud
If it sounds awkward aloud, it’ll read awkward. YA dialogue should feel snappy and alive, not literary or stiff.
Test With Real Teens
Best hack I know: give a few scenes to actual teen readers. If they cringe, you’ve got work to do. If they text you excitedly about how real it feels? You nailed it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t Overstuff With Slang
I once read a draft where every line was packed with TikTok slang. It read like a parody — and two years later, it was already outdated. Choose timeless voice over trendy phrases.
Don’t Let Your Voice Creep In
YA authors sometimes fall into “adult explaining” mode, giving their teens polished, philosophical dialogue. Teens are sharp, but they don’t sound 40.
Don’t Dump Info in Dialogue
“This summer at the prestigious Camp Invention, where I won first prize in robotics…”
Yeah, no teen talks like this. Weave exposition elsewhere.
Watch for Monotone Voices
Every character shouldn’t sound like the same quirky narrator. One might be dry and clipped; another might be rambling and effusive. Voice reflects personality.
Don’t Force the Jokes
Forced banter is the death of YA dialogue. If the humor doesn’t flow naturally from the character, cut it.
If you approach YA dialogue with curiosity, empathy, and respect for your teen characters, your storytelling will shine. The best YA dialogue isn’t just realistic — it makes the reader feel like they’re in it with the characters, moment by moment.
Practical Tips for Sharpening Your YA Dialogue
Let’s roll up our sleeves and get practical here.
Even if you’ve been writing YA for years, it’s easy to fall into habits — over-explaining, leaning on filler dialogue, or letting your adult voice sneak in where it doesn’t belong. And if you’re newer to YA, it’s even trickier to strike that balance between authentic teen voice and strong narrative style.
I’ve pulled together some techniques I use (and that I see top YA authors using all the time). None of these are magic bullets, but they’ll absolutely sharpen your ear and tighten your dialogue.
Read the Best of the Best
This one’s obvious, but I’m gonna say it anyway: you cannot write great YA dialogue without immersing yourself in great YA dialogue.
But — and this is the key — you need to read like a writer, not just a reader.
When I first read We Are Okay by Nina LaCour, I was floored by how few words her characters used — and how much those words conveyed. Silence, ellipses, clipped answers — it all spoke volumes.
Meanwhile, reading One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus taught me how to write group dialogue that’s fast, layered, and full of rising tension.
Pro tip: highlight the lines that give you a physical reaction (laugh, ache, shiver). Then study how the author built to that moment. That’s where the dialogue magic lives.
Listen to Actual Teen Voices
Okay — obvious caveat here: eavesdropping on teens isn’t cool. But listening to teen voices in natural contexts is essential.
I spend time on YouTube, TikTok, and podcasts made by teens (not just for teens). Pay attention not to what they say, but how they say it:
- Sentence structure
- How often they leave things implied
- How humor shows up (often deadpan or absurdist, rarely the sitcom punchline style adults expect)
- How they signal affection, tension, insecurity
A fun example: I once heard a teen on a podcast say about a friend, “She’s being a little too… main character today.” I loved that. It wasn’t slang, but a playful, self-aware comment that immediately told me about the speaker’s worldview. THAT’S the kind of line you want to catch.
Let Character Growth Shape Dialogue
YA is, at its heart, about transformation. So if your character sounds exactly the same on page 10 and page 310, that’s a red flag.
Dialogue is one of the best places to show growth.
Look at Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda again. Early Simon dodges questions, uses humor to deflect, and hedges constantly. By the end, his speech is clearer, braver, more emotionally direct.
You can track a whole character arc just through shifts in tone, word choice, and rhythm.
Master Subtext
Teens often talk around things, especially when emotions are running high. Your readers know this — and they love decoding what’s unspoken.
One trick I use is to write a scene first with the characters saying exactly what they mean — then rewrite it where they don’t.
For example, a “clean” version might be:
“I’m scared you’ll leave.”
“I won’t.”
Now subtext it:
“You’re packing already?”
“Just organizing.”
“Right. Sure.”
There’s so much more tension and engagement in the second version. Readers lean forward, wanting to read between the lines.
Skip the Slang Grab Bag
Here’s where a lot of well-meaning YA writers trip up. You want your dialogue to sound current, so you stuff it with whatever slang is trending this month.
Bad idea. Slang dates fast and varies wildly by region, race, subculture, and friend group. Worse, nothing makes a YA reader cringe harder than slang that doesn’t fit the voice or setting.
Instead, focus on deeper markers of voice:
- Sentence rhythm (choppy? run-on? clipped?)
- Humor style
- Emotional avoidance strategies (sarcasm? deflection?)
- Relationship dynamics in dialogue
If a particular slang term truly belongs to a specific character (because of who they are, not because you saw it on TikTok), fine. But use it sparingly and authentically.
Read Your Dialogue Out Loud
It’s simple, and it works. If a line feels awkward out loud, it will read awkward on the page.
When I’m stuck, I literally pace my office reading my dialogue aloud. If I stumble or cringe, I know I need to rewrite. YA dialogue should sound alive — like something a teen would say in the heat of the moment, not in a polished essay.
Test With Real Teens
Finally — the ultimate test. If you have access to teen readers (students, nieces/nephews, book groups, sensitivity readers), use them.
When I was writing my last YA manuscript, a 17-year-old beta reader flagged a line of dialogue that I thought was funny. She wrote in the margin: “No one says this anymore. Total dad energy.” Ouch — but totally accurate. And I cut it.
Teens are your best authenticity detectors. Trust them.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Alright, let’s get honest: even seasoned YA writers fall into these traps sometimes. I’ve done it. You’ve probably done it. The good news? Awareness is half the battle.
Overstuffing with Slang
We already touched on this, but it’s worth repeating: don’t chase trends for the sake of sounding “current.”
I once mentored a YA writer whose draft had every character constantly saying “slay,” “periodt,” and “on God.” It was exhausting — and worse, it turned her unique characters into memes.
When in doubt, leave slang out — or use it strategically for a specific character.
Letting Your Adult Voice Creep In
This is subtler, but just as dangerous. You start writing a big emotional moment, and suddenly your 16-year-old protagonist is monologuing like a TED Talk speaker.
Teens can be wise, yes. But if their dialogue suddenly sounds too polished or philosophical, readers will disengage.
Real example: I had a line where a 15-year-old said, “This moment encapsulates everything I’ve feared.” One of my beta readers flagged it with: “She’d just say, ‘This is what I was scared of.’”
Keep it emotionally rich, but age-appropriate.
Info Dumping in Dialogue
You’ve seen this one:
“You know, as my best friend since kindergarten who lives down the street and whose mom works at the diner where we first met…”
No teen talks like this. If you need to convey backstory, do it through context, not forced exposition in dialogue.
A better version might be:
“You still going to your mom’s after school?”
“Yeah. She needs help at the diner. You remember how it is.”
Subtle. Natural. World-building through voice.
Monotone Character Voices
Another biggie: every character sounding exactly the same.
One of my favorite YA novels is I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Noah and Jude have such distinct voices that you could remove all dialogue tags and still know who’s speaking.
Ask yourself: could someone identify each of my characters by dialogue alone? If not, tweak the rhythm, diction, humor style, and emotional tone until their voices sing.
Forcing the Jokes
Look, some teens are hilarious — but not all are snarky banter machines.
A lot of YA writers (especially in romcoms) fall into the trap of having every line drip with quips. The result? Unrealistic, over-scripted dialogue.
Let your characters earn their funny moments. And remember — sometimes the most powerful dialogue is awkward, raw, or even silent.
Before You Leave…
Writing authentic YA dialogue is an art, not a checklist. It takes a sharp ear, deep empathy, and a willingness to revise and revise again.
If there’s one thing I hope you take from this: your goal isn’t to sound like teens — it’s to sound like your teens. Let each character’s dialogue reflect their inner world, their struggles, and their growth.
And hey — give yourself grace. We all write clunky lines sometimes. That’s why we have drafts, readers, and the magic of revision.
Now go forth and write dialogue that sings. If you discover a technique or example that blows your mind along the way, come back and tell me — I’m always learning, too.