The Dialogue Doctor Podcast

Jeff Elkins
  • 4.9 (18)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

Writing great books is critical to generating sales and building a following of readers. On the Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins and other writers discuss how to write dialogue that will excite readers and help you sell more books.

  1. 2d ago

    Stop Writing Scenes. Start Designing the Reader's Emotional Journey. [Ep 340]

    Most writers are taught to think about plot, character arcs, genre, theme, setting, cast, and prose as separate craft problems. But what if they are all doing the same job? What if every tool in your novel exists to shape one thing: the reader's emotional journey? In this solo episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins introduces the big idea behind his new book, The Dialogue Doctor on Writing Emotion. Instead of treating emotion like something mysterious that either "works" or doesn't, Jeff breaks it down into a practical framework writers can actually use. You'll learn how to think about your story through seven emotional tools: trajectory, vector, alignment, saturation, velocity, pressure, and altitude. These tools help explain why readers feel hope, dread, comfort, tension, frustration, satisfaction, heartbreak, or joy as they move through a story. Jeff also talks about why traditional story systems like Save the Cat, Story Grid, and beat sheets are useful—but limited. The goal is not to throw those systems away. The goal is to understand what they are doing to the reader so you can use them with more freedom, confidence, and creativity. Watch this episode if you want to stop guessing your way through emotional scenes and start designing a reader journey that actually lands. Because great stories do not just happen on the page. They happen inside the reader.

  2. Jul 27

    The One Thing Your Emotional Scene Might Be Missing [Ep 339 - Audio Only]

    Your dialogue can be sharp. Your scene can move fast. Your characters can have real chemistry. But if the reader doesn't spend enough time inside the emotional turn, the biggest moment in the scene can fly by before it lands. In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins works with sci-fi author Leanne Robinson on a dialogue-heavy scene between an alien woman and the hero who has complicated feelings for her. What begins as a fun, flirtatious reunion quickly turns into something much bigger: a relationship crisis, a betrayal, a pregnancy reveal, and a major turning point in Randy's emotional arc. Jeff's core advice is simple but powerful: emotional depth often comes from time on the page. You'll learn how to slow down the right moments without dragging the scene, how to expand key utterances so readers feel the emotional shift, how to use inner thought to clarify what a character is really reacting to, and how to separate romance, suspicion, betrayal, fear, and responsibility when they all collide in the same conversation. This session is especially useful if you write dialogue-heavy scenes, sci-fi romance, multi-POV stories, character-driven conflict, or emotional turning points where a character has to become more serious, responsible, or honest with themselves. Watch this episode if you want to learn how to take a scene that already works and make it hit harder.

  3. Jul 20 ·  Video

    The Secret to Making High-Stakes Fantasy Feel Personal [Ep 338 VIDEO]

    A young hero is about to make a decision that could change everything. But will the reader feel the weight of that choice? In this coaching session, editor Laura Humm works with author Liz Woodwiss on Chapter 21 of Liz's epic fantasy novel. The scene centers on Terry, a 14-year-old reluctant hero who is being pushed toward a terrifyingly grown-up decision: petitioning the King directly during a Day of King's Grace in order to expose the Queen's manipulation. Laura helps Liz strengthen the chapter by bringing the reader deeper into Terry's point of view. Instead of letting the scene become a room full of adults discussing politics, Laura shows how Terry's fear, hope, confusion, and urgency can guide the reader through the complexity of the moment. You'll learn how to open a scene with emotional stakes, how to keep third person close narration anchored in your protagonist, how to remind readers what matters at the start of a chapter, and how to use teenage reactions, whispers, and shared panic to make political fantasy feel immediate and personal. The session also digs into world-building through character-specific imagery, including how Terry's lace-making background can shape the way he sees danger, pressure, and choice. Watch this session if you're writing YA fantasy, political intrigue, a reluctant hero, or any scene where a young character has to stand in a room full of adults and decide who they are going to become.

  4. Jul 20

    The Secret to Making High-Stakes Fantasy Feel Personal [Ep 338 AUDIO ONLY]

    A young hero is about to make a decision that could change everything. But will the reader feel the weight of that choice? In this coaching session, editor Laura Humm works with author Liz Woodwiss on Chapter 21 of Liz's epic fantasy novel. The scene centers on Terry, a 14-year-old reluctant hero who is being pushed toward a terrifyingly grown-up decision: petitioning the King directly during a Day of King's Grace in order to expose the Queen's manipulation. Laura helps Liz strengthen the chapter by bringing the reader deeper into Terry's point of view. Instead of letting the scene become a room full of adults discussing politics, Laura shows how Terry's fear, hope, confusion, and urgency can guide the reader through the complexity of the moment. You'll learn how to open a scene with emotional stakes, how to keep third person close narration anchored in your protagonist, how to remind readers what matters at the start of a chapter, and how to use teenage reactions, whispers, and shared panic to make political fantasy feel immediate and personal. The session also digs into world-building through character-specific imagery, including how Terry's lace-making background can shape the way he sees danger, pressure, and choice. Watch this session if you're writing YA fantasy, political intrigue, a reluctant hero, or any scene where a young character has to stand in a room full of adults and decide who they are going to become.

  5. Jul 13 ·  Video

    How to Finish a Novel Without Overthinking Every Edit [Ep 337]

    You've revised the book. You've worked through the big problems. You can see the finish line. But now every tiny note feels dangerous. Should you fix that sentence? Change that symbol? Rework that scene? Ask for more feedback? Or are you just giving yourself another reason not to finish? In episode 337 of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins works with author Laurel Bollinger on the final revision stage of her children's fantasy novel and helps her sort the edits that matter from the edits that only create noise. You'll learn how to look at your almost-finished manuscript with more confidence, make smart choices about continuity, voice, pacing, character consistency, and story logic, and stop treating every small question like a five-alarm fire. If you're close to finishing your book but keep getting pulled back into one more pass, this episode will help you breathe, focus, and move forward. Because the goal isn't to edit forever. The goal is to finish the book and get it into readers' hands.

  6. Jul 6 ·  Video

    The Secret to Using Dialogue to Build Character Chemistry [Ep 336]

    Writers want readers to care the first time two important characters meet. But the problem is that first meeting scenes can easily become functional. Characters exchange information, explain the plot, describe the setting, and move the story forward, but the reader does not yet feel the chemistry, tension, suspicion, or possibility between them. In this episode, Jeff Elkins works with author Gladys Strickland on a scene where two main characters, Sarah and Thaddeus, meet in person for the first time. Sarah is an art historian trying to rebuild her academic confidence. Thaddeus is an archaeologist with a damaged reputation and a blunt, guarded personality. They do not fully trust each other yet, but they are being pulled toward a mystery that will force them to work together. Jeff shows how small craft choices can make that first meeting come alive: how a character's home can reveal who they are, how two POVs can interpret the same room differently, how sentence length and word choice separate character voices, and how body language helps readers understand emotional tone. The conversation also digs into how to weave research, history, and worldbuilding into dialogue without dumping information on the reader. Jeff explains why readers need only the details they must remember, why POV characters should not hide their thoughts from us, and how emotional ramps help arguments, trust, and chemistry build at the right pace. Watch this episode if you're writing a first meeting scene, a dual POV scene, a mystery or thriller, an academic adventure, or any story where two characters need to move from suspicion toward partnership.

  7. Jul 4 ·  Video

    What's Working for Indie Authors Right Now? [Write, Wrong, Repeat Ep 3]

    Authors want to write great books, launch them well, grow their readership, and make smart business decisions. But the problem is that indie publishing never feels simple. Launches are stressful even after dozens of books. Ads can look profitable one month and shaky the next. TikTok can sell books but demand more visibility than some authors want. NetGalley can bring reviews, but only if the right readers get the book. And while all of that is happening, writers still have to protect their creativity and avoid burning out. In this episode of Write, Wrong, Repeat, Jeff Elkins, Holly Lyne, Tom Holbrook, JP Rindfleisch, and Crys Cain talk honestly about what they're testing in their author businesses right now. They discuss launch-day anxiety, NetGalley lessons, Facebook ads, Amazon freebies, TikTok lives, faceless TikTok accounts, newsletters, reader magnets, preorders, BookVault, direct sales, and using AI tools to organize the chaos. The conversation digs into the real question underneath all the tactics: how do authors build systems that sell books without draining the joy out of writing them? Watch this episode if you're trying to figure out what's worth your time as an indie author, how other writers are experimenting with launches and marketing, and how to keep moving forward when the author business feels messy, uncertain, and very, very real.

  8. Jun 29 ·  Video

    How to Write Group Dialogue Without Losing Your POV [Ep 335]

    Writers want group conversations that feel natural, reveal the story world, and move multiple relationships forward at once. But when several characters begin talking, the POV character can quietly disappear. The dialogue may communicate important information, but the reader loses their emotional guide. Tension fades, exposition takes over, and the scene stops feeling like it belongs to the protagonist. In this episode, Jeff Elkins coaches author Dennis Kurlas on a historical-fiction scene set in Athens shortly before the 1967 Greek military coup. After escaping a volatile political demonstration, Leo, Margo, and their companions enter a taverna where political debate, buried memories, romantic tension, and a charismatic resistance fighter begin pulling them apart. Jeff explains how to carry fear from one chapter into the next, keep a silent POV character emotionally present, and use internal thought, body language, and brief dialogue to show how every exchange affects him. They also explore how physical gestures can track the changing state of a relationship, how vivid settings can deepen historical fiction, and how repeated images can escalate a character's fear. As Leo becomes increasingly threatened by Margo's independence and attraction to Alexandros, seemingly small reactions begin foreshadowing the unhealthy partner he may become. Watch this episode if you're writing group dialogue, historical fiction, political conversations, romantic jealousy, or any scene where your protagonist risks becoming a spectator in their own story. For more on the craft of writing, check out DialogueDoctor.com

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Writing great books is critical to generating sales and building a following of readers. On the Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins and other writers discuss how to write dialogue that will excite readers and help you sell more books.

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