Good dialogue keeps people reading

That is dialogue in real life. But imagine if dialogue in short stories and novels was like that. As readers we’d quickly lose interest. Though you may have been advised to produce realistic dialogue in your writing, I’m sure the person didn’t mean for you to write dialogue exactly like we talk. Dialogue in fiction is better than real life.

All dialogue in your stories should have a purpose. It should escalate the story, for example. It should make whatever is happening even worse or more dramatic. Look at this scene: