About the course 

In this highly practical writing set of two workshops, learn how to write better dialogue to bring your characters alive and keep your readers turning the page.

What is the purpose of dialogue? How much is too little? Too much? How do we tackle slang? Dialect? Verbatim speech? How can we avoid the pitfalls of exposition in dialogue? And is what’s not said as important as what is said?

Dialogue brings text to life, and there are lots of ways you can use it to make your prose sing. We will look at how dialogue holds a scene together, how to write in different voices, how to make it sound authentic, and also how to punctuate like a professional. We’ll study masters of good dialogue, working out what makes their work successful; we’ll also look at leaden dialogue that sinks like a stone, so that we know what to avoid!

These will be hands-on sessions, with plenty of exercises. Participants are also welcome to offer short pieces of text during the session for the group to work on together. By the end of the course, you’ll be acquainted with the formal structure of dialogue: how to properly punctuate a piece of dialogue, dialogue tags, formatting it on the page alongside narrative text. You’ll be able to weigh up the pros and cons of dialogue versus narrative. You’ll have a better understanding of how to make your dialogue sound more authentic. We’ll look at how you can do a lot of “show not tell” in the way your characters speak–or don’t speak. You’ll also learn what to avoid, common dialogue mistakes to watch out for!

This course is for writers new or seasoned, whether you’re working on fiction, non-fiction, plays, essays or poetry.

About the tutor 

Iqbal Hussain’s debut novel, Northern Boy, was published in June 2024 by Unbound Firsts. His short stories have won first prize in Writing magazine’s Grand Flash competition 2023 and also the 2023 Fowey Festival of Art and Literature. His stories appear in various anthologies and on sites including The Hopper, caughtbytheriver and The Willowherb Review. Iqbal won gold for prose in the Creative Future Writers’ Awards 2019 and was a recipient of the inaugural London Writers’ Awards 2018.

@ihussainwriter / www.ihussainwriter.com

Who is it for? 

All underrepresented writers—those who face barriers to opportunities due to mental health issues, physical health/disability, sensory impairment, learning disabilities, neurodivergencce, substance misuse, survivors, working class backgrounds, and those from the LGBTQIA+ community, Black, Asian, traveler, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds.

Dates & Time: 

Wednesdays, 13 & 20 November

6-8 pm

This course takes place online via Zoom. Links will be sent seven days prior to the first session, and again the day of the first session. 

Access:

You can see our full access commitments here. Please add any additional requirements when booking. 

Cost:

£20 / £10 concessions 

In order to make our resources stretch further, we have to subsidise some workshops with nominal fees well below most online courses. The more who book at full price, the more we’ll be able to offer. 

Concessionary places are available for those on benefits, pensioners, unemployed/underemployed or on low wages. We do not ask for proof that you qualify.  

If concessionary spaces aren’t displayed below, they are fully booked. We can add you to the waiting list if you e-mail [email protected]. 

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