The Dialogue Doctor Podcast

How to Slow Down Emotional Moments So Readers Can Feel Them [ep 350]

Are your characters changing emotionally faster than your readers can follow? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins sits down with author Hazel Be

BookBub, TikTok, Translations & Kickstarter: An Indie Author Roundtable [Write Wrong Repeat Ep 6]

What's actually working for indie authors right now? What are they actually trying? And what is producing results? In this episode of Write, Wrong, Repeat, JP Rindfleis

Subtext, Inner Thought, and Emotional Blind Spots [ep 349]

How do you write a character's emotions when the character doesn't actually understand what they're feeling? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins

What Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" Teaches Us About Character Voice [ep 348]

Why do writers keep studying Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" more than forty years after it was published? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins sits

How to Write Quiet Scenes with Big Emotional Stakes [Ep 346]

How do you write a quiet conversation scene where the real conflict is happening inside the character? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins works

How Writers Can Use the Enneagram to Build Better Characters [Ep 346]

Can the Enneagram actually help you write better characters? Or is it just pseudoscience with numbers, occult-looking diagrams, interpretive dance, and a suspicious amoun

How to Open a Fantasy Novel: Action, Tension, and Character Growth [Ep 345]

How do you open a fantasy novel with action without confusing the reader? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins sits down with new fiction author

Is Publishing Still Worth It? Authors Talk Burnout, Book Marketing, & Hope [Write Wrong Repeat Ep 5]

What happens when a group of working authors sits down after a rough month and tells the truth about publishing? You get this episode of Write Wrong Repeat. In this c

Tony Lee on Writing Fast, Thinking Like a Publisher, & Building an Author Career That Lasts [Ep 344]

In this episode, Jeff Elkins talks with Tony Lee, also known to many readers as Jack Gatland, about writing fast, building a sustainable author career, and learning to th

How to Make Readers Root for a Character Who's Done Terrible Things [Ep 343]

How do you make readers root for a character who has done something terrible? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins sits down with new author Aubr

Spider-Man vs. The Odyssey: A Story Craft Showdown for Authors [Ep 342]

Two huge stories. Two very different emotional experiences. In this episode, Jeff Elkins and Tom Holbrook sit down for a spoiler-filled conversation about Spider-Man: B

How to Open a Thriller Without Losing the Reader [Ep 341]

Thriller writers hear the advice all the time: get to the inciting incident fast. But what happens when you get there so quickly the reader has not had time to care?

Is Craft Really King Again? Authors Debate What Actually Sells Books [Write Wrong Repeat Ep 4]

What actually sells books right now? Is it craft? Writing to market? Better ads? Faster production? AI tools? A stronger backlist? Or is the real answer messier than an

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

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, th

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 w

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

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? C

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 exchang

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 simp