Explore "writing dialogue" with insightful episodes like "Episode 138 - Eric Heuser and Varying Pace", "Episode 137 - Greta Boris and Megan Haskell from The Author Wheel", "Episode 136 - Jeff and Laura Q&A", "Episode 133 - Dialogue in Action Scenes with Madeline Davis" and "Episode 132 - Big Cast Scenes and Providing Insight with Faye Whyte" from podcasts like ""The Dialogue Doctor Podcast", "The Dialogue Doctor Podcast", "The Dialogue Doctor Podcast", "The Dialogue Doctor Podcast" and "The Dialogue Doctor Podcast"" and more!
In this episode, Jeff is joined by author Eric Heuser. Looking at a piece of Eric's together, they talk about emotional writing, keeping dialogue realistic, and varying the pace of the dialogue to keep readers hooked.
For more on Dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff sits down with Greta Boris and Megan Haskell from the Author Wheel Podcast to talk about their writing journeys, how they came to start a podcast, where they see authors hitting road blocks, and advice for finishing your novel.
Check out their new Kickstarter at https://www.subscribepage.com/authorbrandchallenge
Or check out their website at https://www.authorwheel.com/
For more on dialogue, go to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
Jeff and Laura take questions from the community.
In the conversation, they cover:
For more on writing dialogue, go to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff sits down with author Madeline Davis to talk about writing historical fiction and adding dialogue to action scenes. They explore the best way to bring forth the voice of a protagonist and seek out how to align side character in a strategic way that will cause the reader to see the protagonist's flaws.
For more on dialogue, go to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff sits down with author Faye Whyte to edit a piece together. They talk about utilizing all the characters in the room, leaning on existing tropes for hazard characters, keeping all the characters engaged in a segment, and giving the reader insight into what is happening in the POV character's emotions.
For more on dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff is joined by Three Story Method Editors Thomas Holbrook, Valerie Ihsan, and Catherine Hernandez to talk about ensuring your story has a strong foundational conflict, choices, and consequences. They talk about their favorite plotting tools, how they structure stories, and the mistakes they see writers making, and how to know when you need to fix your story.
Find Catherine at https://www.scribes-pen.com/
Find Tom at https://holbrookauthorservices.com/holbrook-author-services/
Find Valerie at https://valerieihsan.com/
For more on writing great dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
Defining character voice, writing for stress relief, and finding your own path . . .
We were thrilled to have Jeff Elkins, the Dialogue Doctor, join us on this week's show! It was an incredible interview, with SO MANY fantastic nuggets of wisdom. We talked about everything from coming from a non-writing background and how hard it was to admit we were writers, to developing character through their dialogue, and the fact that readers want something familiar with a twist.
Jeff is the author of 10 novels, an ongoing vella, and over 100 short stories. He trains authors in how to improve their dialogue through his podcast and coaching as the Dialogue Doctor.
Final Question: Have you ever used a plot frame or story map to outline as you go? Let us know in the comments to this week's post on Facebook @AuthorWheel!
Free Resource: The Top 5 Roadblocks Aspiring Authors Must Overcome, available for free when you join our newsletter at www.AuthorWheel.com/stuff.
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Jeff Elkins
Website: https://dialoguedoctor.com/2022/03/27/coaching/
Podcast: https://dialoguedoctor.com/the-podcast/
The Author Wheel:
Website: www.AuthorWheel.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorWheel
Greta Boris:
Website: www.GretaBoris.com
Facebook: @GretaBorisAuthor
Instagram: @GretaBoris
Megan Haskell:
Website: www.MeganHaskell.com
Facebook & Instagram: @MeganHaskellAuthor
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This week, Jeff met up with several of the Dialoggers to breakdown the movie when Harry Met Sally. They talk about the incredible writing of Noah Ephron, building powerful moments, and modulating character voices to represent change.
For more on dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff is joined by the Dialoggers and we talk about the book Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. It's a beautiful book that inspires a lot of great thoughts about writing, especially when it comes to big cast conversations and character growth.
Check out Margaret Owen's website. It is beautiful - https://margaret-owen.com/little-thieves/
And for more on dialogue, go to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff sits down with the amazing Tom Holbrook to edit a piece Tom is working on. They talk about defining relationships between characters, building unique character voices, keeping characters engaged in a scene, and showing how characters feel about each other through voice modulation.
To find Tom's work, check out https://holbrookauthorservices.com/
For more on dialogue, head over to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff works through a piece with author Maggie Menane. They discuss reader magnets and writing in first person POV.
For more on dialogue, head over to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff sits down with author Carol Painter to work through her plot together. Carol has a question about her character's growth arc and tying together multiple threads of a plot. Jeff and Carol examine her story and talk about how to end it in a satisfying way.
For more on dialogue, come to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff and Laura answer questions from the community. Questions include:
1. In a DIY dialogue class, what would some of the “must read“ books be on the syllabus for a diverse cross-section of excellent dialogue examples?
2. In a previous masterclass, Laura talked about 5 common mistakes to look for when editing: the reader burden, muddy voices, unbalanced dialogue, minimal change, low impact dialogue. To keep from getting overwhelmed, where should I start with the editing process?
3. How do the rules of dialogue change for our characters during spicy scenes?
4. How would you handle scenes where the POV character isn’t very aware of the other’s body language, can’t take it all in at once, and or is maybe not even self-aware of their own?
5. What is something about how people communicate and speak that you learned at your day job lately?
6. What's your favorite thing about working with clients when you're book coaching?
For more on writing dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
Here is a list of the books Jeff and Laura listed for question 1:
Beloved by Toni Morrison to understand character voice.
Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace to understand scene structure.
The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune to understand "big cast" scenes.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernst Hemingway to understand the structure of dialogue.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee to understand the difference between child and adult voices.
Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet to understand the art of conversation.
The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis to see how a scene can be two characters talking.
And court transcripts from the internet to understand what real emotions in conversations sound like.
In this episode, you sit in on a coaching session between Dennis and Jeff. At the time of this recording, Jeff had been coaching Dennis for almost a year. As they looked at a piece together, they talk about slowing down contemplative dialogue, giving the character logical motivations, making prose emotionally meaningful for the reader, having a conversation with an object, and using body language to show emotional shifts in the character.
For more on writing dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this special Halloween episode, Jeff is joined by his co-writer JP Rindfleisch to celebrate finishing the 1st season of their serial fiction and to talk about the challenges of writing a horror-comedy. This conversation goes a little long because JP and I have a great time together. In case you want to skip around:
For more on writing dialogue, head over to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, editor Laura Humm sits down with author Judy Boxer to look through the story Judy is working on.
In part 1, Laura and Judy talk about the complications of blending memoir and fiction, they discuss how to pick a genre, they talk about finding a theme, using the character's voice to make the read more intimate.
In part 2, they talk about what Laura feels as a reader at the opening of the piece, writing little kids, showing character change, making sure we get some of the "world before" so we can appreciate where they are in the conflict, plus much more.
For more writing coaching and tips on writing dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff and Eric sit down to talk through the climax of his book. They talk about not introducing new elements into the climax, building up elements to reveal at the end of the book, building a false ending, and giving a satisfying ending. They also break down where to end a book.
This is Eric's fourth appearance on the Dialogue Doctor. Previously, he was on episode 35, episode 65, and episode 91.
For more on writing dialogue, head over https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff sits down with author Carol Painter to look at a piece she wrote. They talk about writing an emotional journey and ensuring the reader can feel the emotions of each scene. They discuss understanding the conflict and stakes of each scene and then using the emotions of those scene to set up your characters' growth.
For more on writing dialogue, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff sits down with David Hayward. For the last 17 years, David has created art and comics and written books under the moniker of The Naked Pastor. They discuss what it means to create art that pushes back on social norms, how to manage your own mental health under the pressure of criticism, and what it is like to build a successful brand that is authentic to who you are. Plus, Jeff has multiple "fan boy" moment.
Find David's work at: https://nakedpastor.com/
Follow him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/nakedpastor
Or on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/nakedpastor/
For more on writing dialogue, go to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
In this episode, Jeff looks at a chapter from Charmyra Fleming's current project. Together they talk about finding the beginning and end of segments for prose placement, using conversations for world-building, and zooming into the scene to build reader engagement.
You can find Charmyra's website here: https://www.creativecalfuray.com/
home Check out her podcast here: https://www.creativecalfuray.com/blog
To register for the Masterclass - https://dialoguedoctor.com/masterclass-sign-up/
For more on dialogue, go to https://dialoguedoctor.com/
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