How To Write Awesome Dialogue! For Fiction, Film and Theatre: Techniques from a published author and theatre guy

by Tom Leveen

Rejections from agents and editors clogging your inbox? Getting the same rejection slips over and over again?

Maybe it's pacing, plot, narrative . . . what if it's what your characters say ?.

Outstanding dialogue is often the difference between a good book and a great book. How does yours stack up?

No B.S. -- your dialogue has to rock to get attention from agents, editors, and readers.

I'm an award-winning novelist and Bram Stoker Award finalist with nine novels published with imprints of Penguin Random House, Abrams, and Simon & Schuster, plus more than twenty years of experience as an actor and director. I'll guide you through everything you need to improve your writing, make your dialogue shine, and get your book noticed and talked about by readers, agents, and editors alike!

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

195 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2015

About the author

Tom Leveen is the author of nine novels originally with imprints of Random House, Simon & Schuster, Abrams, and more. He has written with Todd McFarlane on SPAWN, the comic book series, and fiction for the TTRPG BattleTech for Topps, Inc.

Recently an early literacy specialist with Phoenix Public Library, Tom has twelve years of previous library work experience. He also has 22 years of theatre experience as an actor and director, and has been the Artistic Director for two different award-winning theatre companies.

Tom wrote his first story in second grade and has been writing and telling stories ever since. His first horror novel, SICK, won the Westchester Fiction Award and the Grand Canyon Reader Award. His novel ZERO was a Best Book of 2013 (American Library Association/Young Adult Library Services Association).

A frequent guest speaker and teacher, Tom has taught, paneled, and/or keynoted for SCBWI, RWA, Desert Nights Rising Stars, Phoenix ComiCon, AzLA, NCTE, TEDx, People of Color Network, Western New Mexico University, Arizona State University, Arizona Reading Association, Kennesaw State University, multiple schools and conferences throughout Germany, AETA, the Los Angeles Teen Book Fest, and many others.

In addition, apropos of absolutely nothing, Tom:

Finished a marathon (in six and half hours) and a triathalon sprint in 2 hours, earned a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do, co-hosted a public access comedy show, directed 30 plays and acted in 30 more, ran a theatre company out of his backyard, met almost all of his literary heroes except for Stephen King, played in a punk band live in front of actual people (once), prefers the Hero System but nevertheless runs a warlock minotaur and storm cleric elf when time permits, trained at the Utah Shakespeare Festival Actor Training program for five sessions, was Best Masque & Gavel Member in high school, lettered in Speech, has a rock in one finger from a pretty bad bail on his (now stolen) Tony Hawk, was the safari train driver for the Phoenix Zoo for a short time, worked in the stock room for Forever 21 for an even shorter time, completed a Spartan Sprint with three friends, and spent twenty years earning his Bachelor of Science degree. He is currently in an MFA program at a major international university.

So if there's something you want to do, go do it.

Reviews

[April Rust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leveen shared some great tips to remember when writing dialogue. He kept it fun, light, and easily digestible. I liked his breakdown of movies in the back, allowing readers to see his tips played out on the screen.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

🖍️ This was a good refresher for me, and I need to remember that “conflict is at the heart of every plot.” True, even in real life. Reading this fast-paced book was worth my time.

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[Ann Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful, and tips on structure and characters too.

[Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply cannot recommend this book enough for anybody looking to sharpen their writing skills. I will go back and use this as a guide time and again. Suitable for any skill level.
Thank you, Tom!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessibly written and has a lot of solid tips for beginners. A good place to start, if you want to improve your dialogue skills!

[Carrie Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and informative read with helpful suggestions for figuring out personality/dialogue for different characters in different situations. Neat perspective with the theater background.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always pick these books up at my friend's place to see if there's anything new to learn. I was pleasantly surprised!

This has clear examples and covers character goals and conflict and why these things matter or how they interact. I got much more than I had expected. It has interesting and practical advice.