Ultimately, mastering dialogue is about finding the sweet spot between artistry and authenticity. It’s about creating conversations that feel real while serving the needs of your story.

When my teenage son picked up “Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing” (Morrow, 96 pp., $14.95), it fell open to Rule 3: “Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue.” “I ...

In monthly face-to-face meetings and a multiday residency, we provide strategic guidance to (1) reflect on and work toward professional writing goals, (2) encourage dialogue about the challenges of ...

Writing Dialogue is Improvisational There aren’t any character elements that you put together somehow to make a credible human being. You are the character as you are composing the piece.

Try writing the same line of dialogue three different ways: 1) the quippy version, 2) the version that simply conveys the meaning of the line, and 3) the emotional subtext of the line.

Writing characterful dialogue The vast majority of scripts contain dialogue. It's likely therefore that your (yes, you, reading this - your) script contains dialogue, too. Now, of course, some actors ...