Being socially awkward does not have to lead to awkward dialogue!!!
What do I mean by that?
Example:
Wrong: "Uh, h-hey, u-umm, Nancy," he stuttered, blushing and frantically looking away.
She just smiled awkwardly and tried to catch his eye. Finally, she said, "Hey, Tristan."
Right: "Um, h-hey, Nancy," he stuttered before clearing his throat and letting out a soft chuckle. "How've you been?"
She smiled. "I've been good. Work's a bitch, but hey? What're you going to do about that? What about you, Tristan? How's your family?"
See how in the first example it seems very forced?
BEING SOCIALLY AWKWARD DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO STUTTER EVERY TIME YOU SPEAK. I don't know how I can stress this more. Yes, your character will obviously stutter sometimes. It's part of life. What's not part of life is them being unable to form an intelligent sentence, even around someone they like.
Unless your character has a stuttering disability, you do not need to have them stutter this badly.
Also, see how in the second example the character Tristan does something to ground him? Clearing his throat grounds him a bit and gives him a moment to decide what to say rather than being put on the spot. Socially awkward people often have a lot of trouble talking on the spot unless it's someone they're comfortable with. Give your character a nervous tick to make the dialogue flow a bit better. Clearing their throat, fidgeting with their hands, avoiding eye contact for a minute, etc.
Socially awkward characters do not have to always lead to awkward and forced dialogue. It's not fun for the readers to read and it hurts my soul a bit inside when it happens all the time.
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THIS IS NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE OR SINGLE AN AUTHOR OUT. THIS BOOK IS MEANT TO BE HELPFUL AND I AM REALLY SORRY IF YOU ARE OFFENDED BY IT. I AM NOT AN ENGLISH TEACHER, I JUST HAVE HAD REALLY GOOD ONES IN THE PAST WHO HAVE TAUGHT ME THESE THINGS. IF YOU SEE ANYTHING WRONG, PLEASE POINT IT OUT AND I WILL DO SOME RESEARCH ON IT/CORRECT IT IF NEED BE.
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