18.28: Writing Conversational Dialogue

from Writing Excuses · host Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler

How do you write dialogue that sounds natural? We have some things to keep in mind when you write conversations between characters. When people converse, they do so with more than just words. Body language, tone of voice, and societal context all play a role in understanding what a person means. How do you convey that on the page or in audio?Homework:Take dialogue you've written. Delete every third line, and replace those lines with blocking. Thing of the Week:Cunk On EarthMentioned Links:Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.Join Our Writing Community! PatreonInstagramTwitterFacebookSign up for our newsletter: https://writingexcuses.comOur Sponsors:* Check out HomeServe and use my code homeserve.com/excuses for a great deal: https://www.homeserve.com* Check out MasterClass and use my code masterclass.com/EXCUSES for a great deal: https://MasterClass.com* Check out Talkiatry and use my code Talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jul 9, 2023

What this episode covers

How do you write dialogue that sounds natural? We have some things to keep in mind when you write conversations between characters. When people converse, they do so with more than just words. Body language, tone of voice, and societal context all play a role in understanding what a person means. How do you convey that on the page or in audio? Homework: Take dialogue you've written. Delete every third line, and replace those lines with blocking. Thing of the Week: Cunk On Earth Mentioned Links: Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson. Join Our Writing Community! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/WritingExcuses Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/writing_excuses/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/WritingExcuses Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WritingExcuses Sign up for our newsletter: https://writingexcuses.com Our Sponsors: * Check out HomeServe and use my code homeserve.com/excuses for a great deal: https://www.homeserve.com * Check out MasterClass and use my code masterclass.com/EXCUSES for a great deal: https://MasterClass.com * Check out Talkiatry and use my code Talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/writing-excuses2130/donations Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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18.28: Writing Conversational Dialogue

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