creative-writing

Writing Dialogue

Write Dialogue Readers Can Hear

12 lessons4 modules9h 35m durationbeginner level

Instructor: StretchLearn Faculty

About this course

This beginner course teaches the mechanics that separate flat, expository dialogue from scenes that crackle with tension and character. Through worked before-and-after examples, named frameworks, and revision drills, you will learn to bury intention in subtext, give every speaker a recognizable voice, handle tags and action beats cleanly, and strip the on-the-nose lines that kill momentum.

Curriculum

Module 1: What Dialogue Is Doing on the Page3 lessons

Real Speech vs. Crafted DialoguePreview45m
Want, Obstacle, and Tactic in Every Scene🔒45m
Reading Like a Dialogue Mechanic🔒45m

Module 2: Subtext: Saying One Thing, Meaning Another3 lessons

The Iceberg and the Two-Track Line🔒50m
Tools That Generate Subtext🔒50m
Pacing Subtext with White Space and Pauses🔒45m

Module 3: Voice, Register, and Dialect3 lessons

Differentiating Two Voices on the Page🔒50m
Register: Matching Speech to Situation🔒45m
Dialect Without the Apostrophe Soup🔒45m

Module 4: Tags, Beats, and Trimming the Fat3 lessons

Said, Action Beats, and the Tags to Avoid🔒50m
Diagnosing On-the-Nose and Expository Lines🔒50m
The Dialogue Revision Pass🔒55m