The Book of Dialogue: How to Write Effective Conversation in Fiction, Screenplays, Drama, and Poetry

Originally published in 1989, this revised and expanded edition focuses on the art and craft of writing effective dialogue in fiction, cinema, television, drama, radio, and poetry. Turco’s unique technique teaches by showing: he creates a Socratic dialogue as the form of the book itself. Says the author, "Plato wrote lies in order to tell the truth. That’s what a fiction writer does and has always done." The book covers how to: • Write dialogue that is believable as conversation―carefully selected, paced, and organized. • Break up dialogue at strategic places with action, replies, scene-setting and other elements vital to telling your story. • Balance dialogue and other story elements • Dramatize conflict through dialogue. • Use dialogue to lay the groundwork for upcoming events in the story.