How To Balance Dialogue and Description
…decision depends on balance. If we rely only on dialogue or description, challenging ourselves to develop the other at some point will surely benefit our writing. But assuming we strive…
Why NOT Listening is Key to Writing Dialogue
…dialogue. The second, far more important, mistake is that we fail to notice or include one of the aspects of real-life dialogue that truly does bring it to life: The…
Are You Making These 4 Common Dialogue-Writing Mistakes?
…talk after their feelings, not after logic. Avoid too “correct” and stilted dialogue. 4. Your Dialogue Is Plain Boring Even if all the characters have their unique voices, your dialogue…
Use Your Fiction Skills To Write A Personal Essay
…mirroring actual speech patterns can aid the development of authentic dialogue. Readers like dialogue—it’s a nice break from solid description, moves plot along, and reveals character quickly. Try jotting down…
An Interview and Reading with Marion Agnew, Author of “Reverberations”
…dialogue? Marion: It’s easier to write dialogue when people have actually said the dialogue you’re writing down—not that I’m claiming every word of dialogue in Reverberations is exact transcription. But…
How to Give Meaning to Every Word You Write
…out in his post Seven Keys to Writing Good Dialogue, that “good dialogue…builds towards something [and] reveals personality.” The best conversations between characters are the ones where tone, mood, secrets…
8 Motivational and Practical Tips for Memoir Writing
…to nothing. As a supplement to oral-storytelling, I suggest writing a one paragraph description of your story—what can even be thought of as your future back cover description. To do…
Write It Sideways’ Top 10 Articles of 2012
…full article. 6. How to Balance Dialogue and Description I often read about the importance of spicing up writing with dialogue or description: a little show-don’t-tell language, a heated argument…
101 of the Best Fiction-Writing Tips, Part I
…the most important moments in dialogue is what isn’t said. What Isn’t Said: Subtext in Dialogue. Author Culture Try using an ambiguous ending to create a plot twist (often works…
