Young Writers Society

I have a very specific vision in mind for this movie I'm writing, which is kind of important because I'm intending to sell it, where the characters and situations are realistic. The problem is I have no idea how to do that because I'm pretty socially isolated. So if anyone could give me any tips on how to make characters and dialog more... real, I guess, it would be a huge help.

Hey, I'll help... I'm pretty socially isolated myself, but I like to think I know people. I notice things other people don't, anyway. I'd suggest reading "Animal Magnetism" at some point, just for the heck of it--even if this doesn't help you.
Anyway, "real" is in the eye of the beholder. If you're selling to the main populace, you're going to have to deal with uneducated idiots who have random bias against what others may deem "normal", who may not get half of your references, and may not get any of your jokes/metaphors and will not look up any of it--and that's the truth (unfortunately). It depends on who your key audience is, basically. After all, J.K. Rowling was forced to change her pen name because her key audience was male youth and what sort of boy would read a book by Joanne Rowling? See how petty the market is?
Now, with that in mind (the fact I'm harsh), I would gladly help. Just PM me or respond here with some more information on what you'd like exactly.
And sorry if I managed to get off topic. I just wanted to inform you that realistic is...well, the ideal depends on the person. And if you're trying to write realistic stuff you may end up with bland and petty. I mean, you can't base a book off finding a prom dress and whining and expect to be a best seller (though many have tried), yet you can't make something so absurd it's seen as some B-rated action flick.
...Confusing, yes. Real? Yes.
Now, also be aware that realistic bothers me a little.
Finally, I think that's about all I can say from what little you offered up.

*head-desks* Sorry if I'm being knit-picky. *sighs* I don't know...

Peoplewatch. Anywhere public is good, but schools, malls, and playgrounds in particular are great because you can see how people interact with others within and outside of their peer groups. Children, for instance, tend to act different around children their own age compared to older children and their parents.

You can also peoplewatch online. With all the social networking sites and the ease of posting video and pictures, you can lurk on people's profiles and learn quite a lot about people in general. People tend to type the way they speak, and you can garner a lot about their priorities, likes, and dislikes from what they talk about. It's totally stalkerish, but we won't tell anyone. :P

Over time, you'll find that there are certain personality traits that crop up often and many events that people encounter. Including some of those traits and experiences into your characters will make them more relatable, and so your audience will feel that that the characters at least are realistic.

Something you might find interesting/helpful is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. You can read a bit more in-depth into the types at TypeLogic and The Personality Page.

Above all though, you have to remember that people are reasonable. Their reasons may not be the most sound, but no one acts without a reason or several. If you can show the cause-effect relationship between a character's reasons and their actions, or at least hint at it, then your characters will be believable and feel realistic.

This is an interesting subject actually. I know this will sound extremely arrogant of me, but I think I can write pretty realistically. A few people have said that my writing's fairly realistic anyway. Okay, arrogance aside, it shouldn't be too hard of a thing for you to get the hang of.

Like Kyllorac said, peoplewatching works a treat. Just don't stand in the middle of a park, staring at children... Not a good idea. Just take note of how people react to things, how they behave, how they speak. On that thought, dialogue is a great way of making a character sound realistic. Once you've given your character a personality, be sure that you match the way that character speaks with their personality. For example, if the way they think is rather timid and weak, show that in their dialogue as well. Have them speak simple, short sentences, for example. That's a good step to making a character realisitc.

In the end, you will have to stretch reality because, let's face it, most sides of reality are rather plain. Obviously depending on your situation, it may not be so plain sometimes, but still. What you have to do is to keep things realistic, but at the same time, keep things exciting. It's quite difficult really.

As for making characters and dialogue realistic, those two kind of tie into each other. With realistic dialogue, it helps make the character themselves realistic. I've already mentioned dialogue a bit, so I won't drill that into your head again. Just remember that the key is to match your character's dialogue with their personalities. Does that make sense?

As for the characters themselves, it's always good to have a balance of everything. Give your character flaws, but also give them talents. Make sure they have good things about their personalites, but also make sure there are bad things too. Basically, make them human. Have them make mistakes, have them lie, give them happy emotions, make them unsure about the choices they make, give them little habbits like chewing their nails, make them cry, give them guilty pleasures e.t.c.

I don't think I've been much help here, but I hope I've somewhat made things a bit clearer for you...

Realistic writing comes from realistic experience. That is, life, and experiences we have in life. I've been to Japan, therefore I have that experience. I could plausibly write a realistic experience about being in Japan (a story not some informational brochure). Someone who hasn't plausibly couldn't do this. To do otherwise is very hard, if not impossible for most people. It's really, really obvious for people who are familiar with what you're writing about to tell if you're full of it or just don't understand what you're writing.

So, talk to people who are familiar with what you're writing. I guess observe...but that's not your experience, and it doesn't really mean the same thing to you. You're young, you have time, don't rush yourself, but please don't make up what you're writing. Far, far worse than taking your time and being accurate.

Oh, and don't isolate yourself. Be adventurous and get out there if you're a writer.

I don't mean to crush your hopes and dreams of writing a fantasy story or anything like that, but the best storys are the ones backed by personal experience. I myself have fired a handgun, so I can accurately describe to readers what it feels like. if you wan't to know how people actually talk, and create an entire coversation by yourself, talk to people. find people who are like your characters and ask them what they would say in response to certain things. if you create a character, that charecter is actually a distorted version of someone you know. it's true, if your character is bold and outgoing, find the person you know most like that and talk to them as if you were the other one. hope I was helpful,
your friend,
---Psudiname