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How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript
There is one sure-fire way of improving your novel fast. . . You may know the fundamentals of how to write fiction. You may be more than competent in plot, structure and characters. But if your dialogue is dull it will drag the whole story down. On the other hand, if your dialogue is crisp and full of tension it immediately grabs the reader. And if that reader is an agent or editor, sharp dialogue will give them instant assurance that you know what you're doing as a writer. Writing a bestseller or hot screenplay is no easy task, but dazzling dialogue is an absolute essential if you want to get there. The best part is, the skills of the dialogue craft are easy to understand and put into practice. #1 bestselling writing coach James Scott Bell has put together and expanded upon the dialogue lectures from his popular writing seminars. In How to Write Dazzling Dialogue you'll What fictional dialogue is ... and isn't The 11 secrets of crafting memorable dialogue The 5 essential tasks of dialogue 5 ways to improve your dialogue ear 4 can't-miss methods to increase conflict and tension in any dialogue exchange The top 10 dialogue issues, and how to resolve them You'll also see dazzling dialogue in action with examples from hit novels and screenplays. Don't sabotage your chances of selling your work to readers or publishers because the dialogue is unexceptional. Dazzle them with what the characters say. How to Write Dazzling Dialogue will give you the tools to do it.
138 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2014
726 people are currently reading
2,694 people want to read
About the author
James Scott Bell
124Ìýbooks1,007ÌýfollowersJim is a former trial lawyer who now writes and speaks full time. He is the bestselling author of Try Dying, No Legal Grounds, Presumed Guilty, Glimpses of Paradise, Breach of Promise and several other thrillers. He is a winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Inspirational Fiction, and was a fiction columnist for Writers Digest magazine. He has written two books in the Writers' Digest series, Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure and Revision & Self-Editing.
Jim has taught writing at Pepperdine University and numerous writers conferences. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver.
Series:
* (with Tracie Peterson)
*
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Jim has taught writing at Pepperdine University and numerous writers conferences. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver.
Series:
* (with Tracie Peterson)
*
*
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 301 reviews
June 24, 2015
As always, Bell has put together lots of great tips here. He breaks down the process of dialogue, starting with the basics (even talking about punctuation, which is something I see abused way more than it should be) and building up to some really snazzy tips for more experienced authors, who are wanting to take their characters� speech to the next level. Keep your highlighter handy!
April 1, 2023
Effective and appliable, but suffers from the problem of most self-help books: repeating itself over and over. But as I said, the lessons are pretty good.
January 1, 2021
I've actually watched a lot of YouTube videos, teaching me how to be good at writing dialogue. While those videos were really helpful, I convinced myself to seek for more resources, so I picked this book. The contents of this were not different from what I've watched—same tips but a little bit wider in scope. Also, I appreciate the author's incorporation of his own experiences as examples.
June 4, 2014
I have two bookshelves of writing craft books. This doesn't include the shelf with my dictionaries, style manuals, thesauri, and grammar books. I've also taken many writing classes. I've made a conscious effort in the past couple of years to not take any more classes, not buy any more books because most of them don't have anything new to teach me.
This book is different.
It's really a booklet or pamphlet, not a whole book, but it focuses specifically on writing dialogue and goes deeper than most general books. James Scott Bell provides specific techniques for adding tension to dialogue, for avoiding the boring chit-chat while still keeping the essentials of what you want your characters to say. There are several suggestions for exercises you can try to improve the way you write dialogue, some of which were new-to-me. With the number of writing books I've read, I'd assume they would be new to others as well.
It does include most of the standard advice for writing dialogue as well, but Bell was smart enough to put this at the back rather than the beginning where it might make the reader assume you were just getting tips you already knew.
Most of all, I like the tone of this book. It doesn't present the information as rules you must follow. Instead, it says these are things I've learned about dialogue, things you might want to incorporate in what you do when you write it, but if you want to do something different, that's okay, too. That's very refreshing to see in a writing craft book.
This book is different.
It's really a booklet or pamphlet, not a whole book, but it focuses specifically on writing dialogue and goes deeper than most general books. James Scott Bell provides specific techniques for adding tension to dialogue, for avoiding the boring chit-chat while still keeping the essentials of what you want your characters to say. There are several suggestions for exercises you can try to improve the way you write dialogue, some of which were new-to-me. With the number of writing books I've read, I'd assume they would be new to others as well.
It does include most of the standard advice for writing dialogue as well, but Bell was smart enough to put this at the back rather than the beginning where it might make the reader assume you were just getting tips you already knew.
Most of all, I like the tone of this book. It doesn't present the information as rules you must follow. Instead, it says these are things I've learned about dialogue, things you might want to incorporate in what you do when you write it, but if you want to do something different, that's okay, too. That's very refreshing to see in a writing craft book.
October 6, 2015
This is the first book I read by James Scott Bell, and I'm already a major fan. He has a way of telling his lessons in a thorough yet concise manner that I have yet to see in other writing fiction how-to authors. I'm really looking forward to reading his other books!
April 15, 2022
James Scott Bell is my kind of author. If he finds a better way to do something, he takes the time to perfect it, then he shares it.
July 13, 2023
Warning: I'm going to scour this book, but I'm also going to recommend it. That's not the way things normally go, but this volume deserves both.
I am teaching a class on dialogue this fall, which is not a subject I've taught directly before. So I thought it would be wise to read a couple of the works that my colleagues recommended, and this title was mentioned more than once. I can see why. It's a fairly quick read (large font, extra space between lines, white space, blank pages) and it has a lot of good, basic advice. He discusses the essentials, moves on to a list of mistakes to avoid while injecting conflict into everything. Then he quickly covers ten key dialogue issues, including a concise but fairly brilliant explanation of dialogue mechanics. (His version is a bit better than the one I normally recommend, which is a chapter in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King.)
He also has an excellent short chapter on Attributions (i.e. speech tags) and the default use of said, rather than saidisms. This, too, is a good companion to the chapter on same in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.
Mr. Bell and I are exactly on the same page on many issues. Several of my standard teaching bits have parallel versions in here. What I call an "oatmeal scene" he calls a "sitting-down-for-coffee scene." What I call a "transcript draft" he calls "The Cheap Champagne Method." And so on. We agree on much.
So here's a list of mantras and of strengths:
� Dialogue must have purpose
� Give each character an agenda, and make sure they conflict (he properly keeps going back to conflict)
� Dialogue is not real-life speech
� "Hide the exposition within confrontation." (This is what I mean with my "Don't explain, complain.")
� Don't preach
� He suggests a "voice journal" (an elaborate version of my POV Voice Chart), and it's worth considering.
� "Sprinkle interruptions in your dialogue."
� His advocacy of "side-steps" is excellent
� ditto "Don't forget about silence!"
� He makes good points about thematic dialogue and inner dialogue (but his example for the latter is horrid).
But here's why it gets a three-star evaluation:
� This book is short, at 128 pages of actual text, but it's really only half that long in reality. The typesetting is meant to puff up what is really an extended pamphlet.
� Because it's so short, the data set is too small. It should really have two or three examples for every one that's actually here.
� Bell is a screenwriter as well as novelist, and uses movie dialogue and book dialogue a couple of times, showing the same scene in both versions. That is instructive, if you pay attention, but the problem is that he never clarifies the issue I have constantly to harp on with students: SCREENPLAYS ARE NOT PROSE FICTION. They work distinctly differently, and he doesn't clarify this issue.
� Only two of the examples, I believe, are from the century in which we are living, and one of those is from a novel of his. For a book about fiction dialogue he has far too many film and TV examples, and most of them are unbelievably out of date. Movies from the 1930s and 1940s are lovely, BUT THEY ARE STYLISTICALLY WRONG FOR ANYBODY WRITING TODAY. The example data set is therefore historically fascinating and also functionally horrible. Just horrible.
The bottom line is that this book provides excellent advice and poorly-chosen (though accurate) examples. They are good examples for a General Theory of Dialogue in the History of English Drama and Fiction. And the book is good for extracting a General Theory. But this will also tend to make one write out-of-date dialogue, and that's a Problem.
Highly recommended, though, for the good parts.
I am teaching a class on dialogue this fall, which is not a subject I've taught directly before. So I thought it would be wise to read a couple of the works that my colleagues recommended, and this title was mentioned more than once. I can see why. It's a fairly quick read (large font, extra space between lines, white space, blank pages) and it has a lot of good, basic advice. He discusses the essentials, moves on to a list of mistakes to avoid while injecting conflict into everything. Then he quickly covers ten key dialogue issues, including a concise but fairly brilliant explanation of dialogue mechanics. (His version is a bit better than the one I normally recommend, which is a chapter in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne & King.)
He also has an excellent short chapter on Attributions (i.e. speech tags) and the default use of said, rather than saidisms. This, too, is a good companion to the chapter on same in Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.
Mr. Bell and I are exactly on the same page on many issues. Several of my standard teaching bits have parallel versions in here. What I call an "oatmeal scene" he calls a "sitting-down-for-coffee scene." What I call a "transcript draft" he calls "The Cheap Champagne Method." And so on. We agree on much.
So here's a list of mantras and of strengths:
� Dialogue must have purpose
� Give each character an agenda, and make sure they conflict (he properly keeps going back to conflict)
� Dialogue is not real-life speech
� "Hide the exposition within confrontation." (This is what I mean with my "Don't explain, complain.")
� Don't preach
� He suggests a "voice journal" (an elaborate version of my POV Voice Chart), and it's worth considering.
� "Sprinkle interruptions in your dialogue."
� His advocacy of "side-steps" is excellent
� ditto "Don't forget about silence!"
� He makes good points about thematic dialogue and inner dialogue (but his example for the latter is horrid).
But here's why it gets a three-star evaluation:
� This book is short, at 128 pages of actual text, but it's really only half that long in reality. The typesetting is meant to puff up what is really an extended pamphlet.
� Because it's so short, the data set is too small. It should really have two or three examples for every one that's actually here.
� Bell is a screenwriter as well as novelist, and uses movie dialogue and book dialogue a couple of times, showing the same scene in both versions. That is instructive, if you pay attention, but the problem is that he never clarifies the issue I have constantly to harp on with students: SCREENPLAYS ARE NOT PROSE FICTION. They work distinctly differently, and he doesn't clarify this issue.
� Only two of the examples, I believe, are from the century in which we are living, and one of those is from a novel of his. For a book about fiction dialogue he has far too many film and TV examples, and most of them are unbelievably out of date. Movies from the 1930s and 1940s are lovely, BUT THEY ARE STYLISTICALLY WRONG FOR ANYBODY WRITING TODAY. The example data set is therefore historically fascinating and also functionally horrible. Just horrible.
The bottom line is that this book provides excellent advice and poorly-chosen (though accurate) examples. They are good examples for a General Theory of Dialogue in the History of English Drama and Fiction. And the book is good for extracting a General Theory. But this will also tend to make one write out-of-date dialogue, and that's a Problem.
Highly recommended, though, for the good parts.
September 22, 2021
This is a four-star how-to book for fledgling writers and a three-star publication for those with lots of words under their belts. It includes basic tips for learners with important entries on punctuation, attribution, and action tags. These are fundamental and every writer should be acquainted with them. If there's one good tip in the book, it's "Make 'said' your default [attribution]." I can't stomach attributions like 'explained, snorted, hissed, yawned, laughed, opined, lamented, etc.' Such attributions are unwieldy, stilted, and stymie the more compelling and colorful "show, don't tell" characteristic of good writing.
Bell adds helpful bits of advice on controlling the pace with dialogue and how to use it to ratchet up the tension in a scene. These are things the more experienced writer has already discovered, as is, in fact, 90 percent of the book. Hence, three stars overall, yet worth having in your craft reference library.
Bell adds helpful bits of advice on controlling the pace with dialogue and how to use it to ratchet up the tension in a scene. These are things the more experienced writer has already discovered, as is, in fact, 90 percent of the book. Hence, three stars overall, yet worth having in your craft reference library.
August 18, 2017
Could have done without the transphobic Kurt Vonnegut quote, but otherwise a solid reference with interesting writing exercise suggestions.
September 28, 2020
The book is short, 140 pages long, examples are provided everywhere, there is nothing much that exaggerated the art of writing dialogue while giving the due respect to those who have established themsleves to be masters of it. I would definitely recommend just about anyone in case they want to learn to write better dialogues.
November 3, 2019
This was a great quick reference on writing dialogue and really helped me when I was stymied by my characters� inability to say two words to each other that weren’t deadly dull. Glad I came across it while searching other writing books.
July 23, 2019
Worth the read!
I love everything James Scott Bell writes. Having read dozens of books on writing I’ve found very few as excellent as his.
I love everything James Scott Bell writes. Having read dozens of books on writing I’ve found very few as excellent as his.
May 1, 2021
Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!
If you’re a writer, do yourself a favour and read this book. James Scott Bell uses a number of examples to show you what makes good dialogue.
To my delight, the first scene from Gone with the wind is used as an example of brilliant dialogue writing. The heightened tension in the room is brought to light through Scarlett’s panicked confession and Ashley’s polite rejection. And then there’s Rhett Butler thrown into the mix - with his sardonic comebacks to Scarlett’s insults. It’s all there! In one place! In one scene! Brought to life by brilliant dialogue writing.
James explains that good dialogue should reveal information (without overdoing it), it should reveal character. Good dialogue writing should set the tone, the scene and ultimately reveal theme.
In order to develop good dialogue writing skills, James recommends reading, maintaining a voice journal for characters, reading dialogue out loud and improvisation. He urges you to take on the role of one of your characters and speak like they would, gesture like they would. He recommend that the best way to flesh out a character through dialogue is to literally step into their shoes and wear their attitude like second skin.
James recommends adding external and internal barriers to dialogue. He suggests using interruptions and pauses. He advises that using tension, conflicts and quirks often ups the ante and improves scenes.
Agendas, arguments, barriers and fear, James ultimately says is the quadfecta of sizzling dialogue.
If you’re a writer, do yourself a favour and read this book. James Scott Bell uses a number of examples to show you what makes good dialogue.
To my delight, the first scene from Gone with the wind is used as an example of brilliant dialogue writing. The heightened tension in the room is brought to light through Scarlett’s panicked confession and Ashley’s polite rejection. And then there’s Rhett Butler thrown into the mix - with his sardonic comebacks to Scarlett’s insults. It’s all there! In one place! In one scene! Brought to life by brilliant dialogue writing.
James explains that good dialogue should reveal information (without overdoing it), it should reveal character. Good dialogue writing should set the tone, the scene and ultimately reveal theme.
In order to develop good dialogue writing skills, James recommends reading, maintaining a voice journal for characters, reading dialogue out loud and improvisation. He urges you to take on the role of one of your characters and speak like they would, gesture like they would. He recommend that the best way to flesh out a character through dialogue is to literally step into their shoes and wear their attitude like second skin.
James recommends adding external and internal barriers to dialogue. He suggests using interruptions and pauses. He advises that using tension, conflicts and quirks often ups the ante and improves scenes.
Agendas, arguments, barriers and fear, James ultimately says is the quadfecta of sizzling dialogue.
August 29, 2019
Super quick read, a lot of great advice. Absolutely would recommend for anyone writing a novel.
The examples were as helpful for me as the explanations were, and there are LOTS of examples, but I think that's just me :)
The examples were as helpful for me as the explanations were, and there are LOTS of examples, but I think that's just me :)
October 14, 2019
Well meaning tips and plenty of examples through which to better understand the author's stated points.
September 6, 2020
2,5 stars
It was helpful in terms of tips about how to structure dialogues- I mean technically.
Besides that, I didn't find any groundbreaking ideas or tips.
It was helpful in terms of tips about how to structure dialogues- I mean technically.
Besides that, I didn't find any groundbreaking ideas or tips.
March 23, 2021
Nothing revolutionary here, but this is definitely a good reference for any time you feel like your dialogue may be falling flat.
Good reminders and some fun exercises I may have to try.
Good reminders and some fun exercises I may have to try.
August 20, 2021
I read a lot of storytelling books, and I’m sorry to say this wasn’t very helpful to me.
The structure of the book is messy and doesn’t allow me to create a mental scheme of the points. The explanations are confusing. If I cared for metaphors and similes (like a full paragraph on how Spartans train, to say that you should practice writing dialog) I’d read literary fiction. A writing help book should go straight to the point, be clear and concise. KISS.
Also, most of the examples are from old books, and every modern writer knows that while classics are to be valued, the writing techniques that worked in the past are no longer working for modern readers. Furthermore, I think the examples in the dialogs aren’t the BEST examples out there.
I usually like to highlight passages that I would want to re-read (because an author, even if published, should always keep learning and refreshing their memories) but I didn’t highlight much.
I think the interesting part comes after the first half of the book. There are some valuable insights there! Don't be discouraged by the first part.
The structure of the book is messy and doesn’t allow me to create a mental scheme of the points. The explanations are confusing. If I cared for metaphors and similes (like a full paragraph on how Spartans train, to say that you should practice writing dialog) I’d read literary fiction. A writing help book should go straight to the point, be clear and concise. KISS.
Also, most of the examples are from old books, and every modern writer knows that while classics are to be valued, the writing techniques that worked in the past are no longer working for modern readers. Furthermore, I think the examples in the dialogs aren’t the BEST examples out there.
I usually like to highlight passages that I would want to re-read (because an author, even if published, should always keep learning and refreshing their memories) but I didn’t highlight much.
I think the interesting part comes after the first half of the book. There are some valuable insights there! Don't be discouraged by the first part.
March 4, 2016
Absolutely dazzling. James Scott Bell explains not just how to write better dialogue, but explains what the tenets of great dialogue are and what common mistakes are made. Through the use of great examples of fiction and his own humorous illustrations, he makes all of the rules memorable and incredibly vivid.
I personally like what he wrote so much that I'm taking my writing group through the book, as I consider this an epiphany-inducing book. Can't recommend it enough to any creative writer, whether or not they feel they need the advice.
I personally like what he wrote so much that I'm taking my writing group through the book, as I consider this an epiphany-inducing book. Can't recommend it enough to any creative writer, whether or not they feel they need the advice.
January 5, 2018
More than one of James Scott Bell’s books will be reviewed in Le Coeur de l’Artiste because Bell is so good at explaining craft. Whether someone is writing the next great literary novel or the next bestseller, Bell gives an education in craft that can be taken from his page to the author’s words.
Dialog promotes character, plot, theme and says a great deal about the person behind the pen.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in writing stories, novels, memoir, or scripts.
Dialog promotes character, plot, theme and says a great deal about the person behind the pen.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in writing stories, novels, memoir, or scripts.
July 22, 2016
Some parts of this book I found to be boring but overall I liked some of the writing exercises on dialogue. Bell's ability to concisely divulge how he had been able to develop his skill in creating dialogue was appreciated. I particularly liked the exercise of writing in novel format from a screen play, it shows how to develop a story.
February 16, 2022
Another solid writing book from James Scott Bell. I appreciate his comfortable tone and his examples from many published novels. I believe that newer writers of fiction will benefit the most from this book, but the information also serves as a good reminder for those of us who've been writing for a long time.
October 6, 2017
This book is full of "how to" gems. I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants to write better dialogue. The book is easy to read and follow. The examples are relevant and applicable to each topic.
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May 17, 2018I think this book gives some good tips on dialogue and includes relevant examples. I found it funny and practical. I rented it from the library and it took me forever to return it because I had several other books going at the same time.
July 11, 2018
This was a great quick read with lots of fast and easy - but very insightful - tips on improving dialogue. James Bell was fantastic at providing tons of examples that made the concepts easy to grasp. A great reference!
January 6, 2016
Fantastic, practical book on the craft of writing. I highly recommend it to all writers, beginners or experienced.
June 4, 2017
A quick and enjoyable read with several ideas for writing exercises and itemized tips for improving dialogue writing and writing in general.
October 15, 2019
Very informative. It gets straight to the point and is concise enough to use as a reference to while writing.
January 18, 2020
Such a good book! Really happy I chose this one. I learned so much and I'm really excited to get back to my writing now! Definetly going to check out mpre of the resources listed in the back.
July 20, 2022
I've read two other James Scott Bell advice books, and I have to say, Conflict & Suspense and Plot & Structure were much better.
While the advice in this book wasn't bad, it felt extremely surface-level. Most of this content can be found in much more thorough books that go into more detail and help apply tips to more specific situations. 'Dazzling Dialogue' felt very rushed, as if Bell had a deadline to meet and a contract to fulfil.
I think that the most helpful advice in here was the "Top Ten Dialogue Issues" section at the end, which mostly addresses grammar and different styles. Anyone can use that for reference while writing. This book is also a super quick read.
I would only recommend this book to people who have never read a writing advice book before. Even then, I could recommend better writing advice books.
While the advice in this book wasn't bad, it felt extremely surface-level. Most of this content can be found in much more thorough books that go into more detail and help apply tips to more specific situations. 'Dazzling Dialogue' felt very rushed, as if Bell had a deadline to meet and a contract to fulfil.
I think that the most helpful advice in here was the "Top Ten Dialogue Issues" section at the end, which mostly addresses grammar and different styles. Anyone can use that for reference while writing. This book is also a super quick read.
I would only recommend this book to people who have never read a writing advice book before. Even then, I could recommend better writing advice books.
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