How to write captivating dialogue

Today on Fantasy Writing for Barbarians, we're diving into one of the trickiest (and most rewarding) parts of writing fantasy: crafting great dialogue. Whether you’re building tense exchanges between rivals or heartfelt moments between friends, dialogue can make or break a scene. So we fittingly have much to talk about!

We’ll start with how “show, don’t tell” applies here, how to give your characters distinct voices, and why reading your dialogue out loud might be the secret weapon you didn’t know you needed. Plus, I’ll share some of my favorite techniques for learning from the pros, using context to make your dialogue pop, and sneaking in those nonverbal cues to say what words can’t.

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Fantasy Writing for Barbarians‘ host is Jon Negroni, author of The Pixar Theory, Killerjoy, and more. Our producers are Natalia Emmons and Bridget Serdock. You can find all our episodes and various podcast app options here.

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