Revising Dialogue – How to Make Every Line Count

Talk to Me: Writing Dialogue That Works

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Revising Dialogue – How to Make Every Line Count

Welcome back to the final post in Talk to Me: Writing Dialogue That Works. You’ve learned how to make dialogue purposeful, how to shape character through voice, how to use subtext to build depth, and how to manipulate pacing for tension or emotion. Now it’s time to revise.

Gasp!

I know! That’s a word from hell for some of us.

But the truth is that revision is actually an author’s best friend (along with a copyeditor).

When it comes to our first drafts (and sometimes our tenth drafts) and dialogue our characters often ramble. Tension often fizzles. Jokes sometimes fall flat.

That’s okay. That’s what revision is for.

So, let’s get started with some quick revision steps, okay?

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QUICK NOTE: The paid content for this week is below the paywall for those of you who are just free subscribers. I know! I know! I am willing to barter, but I am pretty smart about this stuff and most of my content is free. I just need food, too. And to feed the puppy.

This is the puppy. He was wet.