#104: 10 Tips For Writing Better Dialogue

In today’s episode, I’m sharing my top 10 tips for writing stronger, more impactful dialogue in your novel. Here’s a preview of what’s included: 

[02:00] Tip #1: Make sure your dialogue serves a purpose in the overarching story.
[03:00] Tip #2: Think of your dialogue as action vs. exposition (or active vs. passive).
[06:09] Tip #3: Get clear on each character’s goal and motivation within a scene.
[07:43] Tip #4: Make sure your dialogue is ripe with conflict and tension.
[10:02] Tip #5: Check that your dialogue sounds right for your genre and tone.
[11:15] Tip #6: Ensure each character has a unique and rich vocabulary.
[13:13] Tip #7: Curate your dialogue to show readers only what they need to see.
[14:30] Tip #8: Keep your dialogue short and to the point.
[16:16] Tip #9: Aim to have your dialogue do more than one thing—and include subtext.
[18:19] Tip #10: Use dialogue to help you control your story’s pacing.
[20:17] Final thoughts and episode recap.

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• Ep. 92 - The 5 Functions of Dialogue in Your Story

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