#NovelMaker Week 6/7 - Dialogue

#NovelMaker
Week 6-7: Dialogue
I am so sorry I missed last week. My niece got married in an actual barn and I spent a huge chunk of the weekend helping with that. It was beautiful, but very different than hosting at a catering hall. I didn’t even make my word count goal which makes me crazy (my husband would say crazier), but that’s okay. I crushed it this week!
This week’s newsletter is inspired by my book club’s last selection. I normally would not criticize another author’s writing but there were some teaching moments in this book that I have to share. The book is Jeneva Rose’s The Perfect Divorce, and before I get to anything critical, I need to list some of Jeneva Rose’s incredible career highlights.

• She is a #1 NY Times bestseller known for her psychological thrillers like The Perfect Marriage and the sequel, the book my club read last month.
• Together the books have sold over a million copies and are being adapted for film and television.
• Leveraging social media (which I am terrible at) is notably one of her greatest strengths. She’s known for using TikTok to create viral content and boost the sales of these books.
• Her acknowledgements in The Perfect Marriage were some of the most real and authentically vulnerable I’ve ever heard an author share. I assume that’s also part of her appeal on TikTok.
• She received over 400 rejections before achieving success.
• Simon & Shuster UK just acquired four new thrillers from Rose in a 10-publisher auction. (An auction is always great for an author.)

Follow Jeneva Rose (@jenevaroseauthor on Instagram) for social media and marketing if for nothing else, especially if you’re writing genre fiction (thriller, romance, historical, etc.)

🔎 Last Week’s Recap

• Key Takeaway 1 → Think of a scene as a mini story with its own arc.
• Key Takeaway 2 → Goal, Conflict, Stakes, Change

• Key Takeaway 3 →There is power in micro-tension.

📚 Next Week’s Focus - Dialogue
If you need a refresher on dialogue formatting, check out this video.
Dialogue is my favorite thing to write. In speaking with other writers, you either love it, or you don’t. Either way, for most stories it’s imperative that you include dialogue and like every other craft element, your dialogue must be exceptional. 
The Purpose of Dialogue
>Reveals Character
How a character speaks shows their personality, background, and emotions.
“I ain't goin' back there,” he muttered. “No way, no how.”
>Moves the Plot Forward
Dialogue can introduce conflict, give information, or create suspense.
“The map isn’t in the safe,” she whispered. “It’s gone.”
>Creates Realism and Voice
Characters who speak like real people help readers stay immersed.
“Seriously? That’s what you wore to the party?”

Dialogue gives us an easy way to show, not tell. We can provide the readers with back story weaved into present day interactions. Instead of writing paragraphs about the horrible divorce your protagonist endured, she could say something like, “I should have killed him when I first thought of it. I’d already be out of jail.” We not only get the picture that the relationship ended horrifically, but it shows us so much about your character and wow, what a voice!
Think, too, about a time you’ve sent a text to someone, and they’ve responded exactly how you knew they would. It’s because you know them so well. Our characters will speak in a way that makes sense for them and on the occasion that a character speaks unusually, it begs the question why the deviation?
Dialogue, like every other word in your manuscript should have a purpose. 
Lastly, do not overlook the use of subtext in dialogue, or what the character doesn’t say. Check out this Gotham Writers post regarding subtext with some great examples.

Now that we’re all on the same page with regards to dialogue, let’s dig into Jeneva Rose’s novel a little. She wrote The Perfect Divorce using an ambitious five—FIVE—character points of view all of which were written in first person. Each chapter is about five pages long. They rotate through these five characters in an order that serves the story. I found myself often having to look back to see who’s head I was in because switching POVs this is really difficult. We never want a reader to have flip back in our story because they’re confused.
In one chapter, written from the main character Sarah Morgan’s POV, there’s a conversation between Sarah and Alejandro, a parolee her foundation is trying to help successfully re-enter society. He’s a violent offender with tattoos covering his neck and chest. He describes himself as a “bad person” and introduces himself by stating his inmate number (which I thought was a bit much), BUT here’s where she lost me. Alejandro meets up with Sarah in her office and says, “Nice office. It serves you well.”
I don’t know who would say that in 2025, let alone an ex-convict who is programmed to just announce his name and inmate number. This is a great example of why I kept having to turn back and see who’s POV we were in, the characters didn’t have unique, or in Alejandro’s case—believable, voices.
With that being said, be careful of stereotypes. Not everyone from the south should have a twang. Not every formally incarcerated person speaks like a killer, but if you are writing them as this dangerous individual, they shouldn’t speak like a seventy-year-old grandfather unless that is a consistent part of the character. I blame Jeneva Rose’s editor, but my daughter says I’m a tough editor.  


🗂 Additional Resources Related to Dialogue
·      Some tips for writing dialogue from The Center for Fiction.

• NY Book Editor’s Your Guide to Writing Better Dialogue
• Lisa Ferland’s notes from Cassie Gonzales’ Dialogue Workshop at the 2019 Stockholm Writers Festival.

 


🚀 This Week’s Challenge
I “borrowed” this from the Master Class article How to Write Great Dialogue. I once watched an interview with Quentin Tarantino (I can’t find it.) where he said that his memory has helped him write authentic dialogue. He often remembers conversations he overhears.
Try this prompt to hone your dialogue-writing skills.

1. Go to a public place where people tend to talk to one another. Try a cafe, bar, or public transportation. Spend 10 minutes eavesdropping on a conversation. Record everything they say and how they say it as specifically as you can. If this is your first time trying something like this, be mindful and respectful of people’s personal space.

 

1. Transcribe. Later, transcribe this conversation into a word processing document as faithfully as you can. What conclusions can you draw from what you heard? Who has more power? Who wants what? Who was listening more closely? Did someone interrupt the other or ignore them? Start a new paragraph each time you switch perspectives, so it’s easier to track who is saying what. 

 

1. Pick the most interesting bits. In a new document, select the part of the conversation that most interested you— whether it was a few lines, or a particularly charged interruption—and use it as the seed of a fictional scene. Here, you are free to cut filler; condense meaning and change the words; and add gesture, silence, and subtext to reveal these characters and what they want to the reader. 

 

1. Get writing. After answering these questions, did a narrative about these strangers begin to form in your imagination? If so, write a short story about it! And remember, you don’t need to get too creative with dialogue tags (the phrases that follow a piece of dialogue that attribute it to whoever is speaking). If in doubt, aim for clarity. There is nothing wrong with “she said” and “he said.”

Don’t sleep on dialogue! Write it down without overthinking it in your first draft but then go back and rework every word. Read it out loud. Does it sound right? Is it tight? Would that character have said that? I hope you love writing dialogue as much as I do.
Enjoy writing this week!
Best, 
Eliza