Oh, snap! Speaking from the perspective of an Indie author in my capacity as both writer and reader, I enjoy brisk dialogue between characters. Dialogue advances the plot of a story and has potential to bring out themes.

My snap judgments:

There’s nothing worse than unrealistic, lame dialogue—particularly if it comes across “sappy” as in Love Story, the overrated, melodramatic best-seller by Erich Segal:

“Love means not ever having to say you’re sorry.”

(Spoken by Jenny, played by Ali MacGraw, in the movie—“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”)

Same difference! This snappy love line is not only lame, but gives poetic license to a callous character to demean women.

An example of dialogue coming across snappy and sincere is spoken by Catherine Earnshaw in Chapter 9 of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights.

“My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.”

These snappy love lines effectively internalize the anguish and mental cruelty two tragic lovers inflict on each other throughout their destructive relationship.

And, snappy love lines from Marc to Augusta in Chapter 31 of An Enlightening Quiche, my own novel in the genre of Contemporary:

“I’ve always loved you. I refrained from pursuing you because I failed you once and I’m not man enough to handle you. Gabe might be able to, but he can’t go the distance. The only guy who’s loved you for as long as I have and just as much, if not more, is Duke! He’s the only one I know who can go toe to toe with you and have your back.”

*If you’re so inclined, drop a snappy love line from a book you’ve read, or from one you’ve written.

Authors Den Page: https://tinyurl.com/yycm7d2w

Eva Pasco’s Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/evapasco