How to Write Great Dialogue: For Authors and Editors

Writing dialogue can seem straightforward but some writers struggle to bring compelling dialogue into their stories. With a comprehensive consideration of dialogue, this book, set out in five parts, guides authors, and the editors who may work with them, to improve the writing of dialogue.

Part One includes fundamentals with effective dialogue punctuation, formatting and attribution.

Part Two considers characters' distinctive voices, highlights personality traits shown in speech and techniques for dialogue in group scenes.

Part Three discusses how story can be driven through characters' spoken exchanges in different genres.

Part Four describes how setting can be vividly put across within dialogue and includes ways to include significant silence.

Part Five presents methods of self-editing and developing your tailored approach to dialogue.

With over forty practical exercises designed to build dialogue skill there are many opportunities here for debut writers and the more experienced to experiment with new approaches and develop confidence in different dialogue challenges. In this book you will find tools, insights and practice to inspire and develop writing skills.