Putting the focus on your dialogue
Who is this course for?
- Authors who write fiction and their characters talk to each other
- Authors who want their readers to get invested in their characters
- Authors who want clear, concise ways to truly make their dialogue more immersive
What you’ll learn
- The one action beat you can almost always get rid of and how to put it to work
- How to fix redundant action beats that aren't doing your story any favors
- How to tighten your dialogue and clarifying your speakers without overusing speech tags
- What the heck a said-bookism is and more importantly how to give them the heave-ho!
- How to eliminate unnecessary adverbs and stage direction
- How to avoiding infodumps in your dialogue. Infodumps in dialogue are just as bad—sometimes worse!—as infodumps in narrative
- How to use your dialogue to push the narrative forward rather than just throwing details at your reader
- How to cut out filter words and which speech tags you can often cut out
- Tricks to make your dialogue sound more natural
- Dialogue mechanics
About the course
Your dialogue is what’s going to do the heavy lifting when it comes to getting readers invested in your characters. Give it all the resources it needs to get the job done, because that means saying goodbye to casual readers and hello to superfans.
You want readers who are eager for your next story and ready to put you on autobuy, right?
Right! And these tips and tricks are what will get you there. Your readers will love your work and start following you on…
Your dialogue is what’s going to do the heavy lifting when it comes to getting readers invested in your characters. Give it all the resources it needs to get the job done, because that means saying goodbye to casual readers and hello to superfans.
You want readers who are eager for your next story and ready to put you on autobuy, right?
Right! And these tips and tricks are what will get you there. Your readers will love your work and start following you on social media, subscribing to your newsletter, and leaving rave reviews. The key to all those things is dialogue, and this course will help you take yours up a notch (several notches, in fact)!
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Course Content
Lesson Name & What’s Included
A Quick Tour
Learn the lay of the land and where everything is in the course platform.
Why Are We Going Over Mechanics?
Quit worrying about how to punctuate dialogue and get this down pat. From speech tags to action beats, from ellipses to em dashes, we're going to cover it all, but quickly and painlessly. I promise.
Speech Tags
Punctuation and format of speech tags.
Action Beats
Punctuation and format of action beats.
Action Beats and Speech Tags Combined
Punctuation and format of action beats and speech tags when you combine them.
The Em Dash
The uses and format of the em dash.
The Ellipsis
The uses and format of the ellipsis.
The Natural Pause
There is one action beat that you can almost always get rid of, and I'd bet money that you have this slacker in your manuscript. Find out what it is and how to put it to work.
Eliminating Waste
Speaking of slackers… Redundant action beats aren't doing your story any favors. Recognize where you can trim them out and make your story more immersive while you're at it.
Tightening Dialogue and Clarifying the Speaker
It's never a good thing if your readers are wondering who's talking. But you can keep everyone on the same page (ha!) without overusing speech tags, and I'll show you how.
Writing Dialogue without Speech Tags
The project at the end of this class will let you put your new skills to the test. Even better, you can see what other students have done and comment on their project and get feedback on your own work.
Said-Bookisms and Invisible Tags
What the heck is a said-bookism? Learn what they are and more importantly how to give them the heave-ho!
Unnecessary Adverbs and Stage Direction
I'm not the one to say eliminate adverbs. Adverbs are great, but you need to know when they're a red flag for where you can strengthen your dialogue. Hand in hand with that concept is making sure your action beats don't read like stage direction.
Avoiding Infodumps in Dialogue
Infodumps in dialogue are just as bad—sometimes worse!—as infodumps in narrative. Learn how to use your dialogue to push the narrative forward rather than just throwing details at your reader.
Cutting Out Filter Words
Discover which speech tags can often be cut out because they go without saying. Getting rid of them will make your story high speed, low drag.
Tricks to Make Your Dialogue Sound More Natural
Wooden puppets don't hook readers. Learn how to make your dialogue more true to life.
The Power of Dialogue
Course wrap-up
Instructor
Anne Victory
You may be wondering why the hell you should listen to Anne Victory or what she could possibly teach you. That's fair. 🙂 Anne has been editing for over a decade. She edits for NY Times and USA Today best-selling authors, including Dannika Dark, Dianne Duvall, Elizabeth Hunter, Gena Showalter, Ilona Andrews, Lynn Raye Harris, Nalini Singh, and Thea Harrison. To date, she’s edited almost 500 books. Anne is also the cofounder of the Association of Independent Publishing Professionals. And, finally, she’s the chief cook and bottle washer for her husband, a boisterous spaniel who loves to wear dresses, two cats, and two birds.
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