About the Book
Write dialogue worth eavesdropping on.
Your plot is tight. Your characters are compelling. But every time they open their mouths, something falls flat.
Maybe your dialogue sounds stilted, or all your characters speak with suspiciously similar voices. Maybe you’ve been told your conversations are “on the nose,” but no one’s explained what that means or how to fix it. Maybe the mechanics trip you up: dialogue tags, action beats, punctuation that never quite looks right.
Here’s the truth: Weak dialogue sinks great stories. Readers skim past conversations that feel fake. Agents reject manuscripts where characters sound like the same person. And no amount of brilliant plotting can compensate for robotic speech.
But, dialogue is a learnable craft skill, and you can train your ear to hear problems before your readers do.
Dialogue That Speaks gives you the same diagnostic tools professional editors use to identify and fix dialogue that isn’t working. Drawing on more than two decades of experience as a developmental editor, line editor, and proofreader, Debra L. Hartmann teaches fiction writers how to self-edit dialogue like a pro—saving thousands of dollars on professional editing while mastering a skill that will serve every story you write.
Inside, you’ll discover:Subtext techniques that add depth without spelling everything outHow to give each character a distinctive voice (even without dialect)The truth about “said” (hint: it’s not dead)When to use action beats and body language to enhance dialogueHow to weave exposition into conversation without “As you know, Bob…”Pacing strategies for dialogue scenes that crackle with tensionGroup conversation techniques that keep readers orientedEach chapter includes before-and-after examples, practical exercises, and revision challenges you can apply to your work-in-progress today.
Whether you’re drafting your first novel or polishing your tenth, Dialogue That Speaks will transform how you write, edit, and hear the conversations on your pages.
Stop letting clunky dialogue sabotage your story. Learn to write conversations readers can’t stop listening to.
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