Developing dialogue and character

Join me for the fourth of six writing workshops. This session focuses on developing dialogue and character.

Are you passionate about storytelling or memoir and eager to learn and improve your craft?

We will consider ways to create compelling dialogue to reveal inner worlds.

Dialogue is valuable in character development because it helps us identify mood, inner conflict, and more.

In this session, we’ll explore:

How to write dialogue that feels natural.

Introduce body language and setting to add depth.

Uncover the subtext of what characters are expressing beyond their words.

Build atmosphere and mood through dialogue and description.

Explore distinctive voices and emotional intensity to deepen the layers of character.

Dialogue reveals character traits, beliefs, values, relationships, and history. It can show who the characters are or want to be.

We will look at how subtext can be used to divulge unspoken thoughts, feelings, and motivations. 

To give you a glimpse into my storytelling approach, here’s an excerpt from my novel, Return Visit:

“Josie squinted against the August sun hovering low in the sky and rubbed her gloved hands to banish the chill. She watched her mother’s friends standing in the Kingdom Hall doorway and spilling into the car park. A few of them nodded to each other and hugged.

An overhanging tree masked some of the light in her car, but not all.

“I want to sing like Neil Young, not sweet, like Bowie.”

“Why not Baez?” she asked Val.

“She slept with Steve Jobs.”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Yes, she did.”

“Does it matter who she slept with?” She laughed at herself. Josie started to sing in an attempt to block out her sister Val’s voice. The words of ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes?’ drifted around her mind…”

Together, we will work to prompts, analyse text and discover ways to make our writing even more vivid and authentic.

Whether working on your first story or honing your voice, this workshop will help you understand the subtleties of dialogue as a way of deepening character.

When: Friday 13 June 2025 at 2:30pm

Where: Casa Alexandra, Santo Estêvão, Tavira, Email for directions: sue at suehall.net

Reserve your spot today