Dialogue is the heartbeat of a great story—it helps characters come alive, delivers information, reveals backgrounds, relationships, and motivations. But crafting authentic dialogue can often feel like walking a tightrope between realistic and caricature, authentic and info-dumpy. Striking that balance takes practice and a few strategies.

In the end, it's about getting to a space where the characters speak for themselves and you are simply transcribing the conversation.

In Make Your Characters Speak: How to Craft Dynamic Dialogue, you'll learn how to transform your characters' conversations into compelling, natural, and unforgettable exchanges. Drawing inspiration from everyday life, this workshop will guide you in channeling those sparks into dialogue that connects with readers. You'll walk away with a set of tools and techniques to approach even the toughest dialogue with curiosity and excitement.

Open to beginner writers.

All class meetings will be held via Zoom. The link to join your Zoom classroom will be provided on the morning of your class. Please check spam folders if you do not receive an email confirmation upon registration. For more information on how to download or use Zoom, please click here.

Meet Your Instructor:
Ka'Dia Dhatnubia

With a BFA in Writing from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Ka'Dia Dhatnubia has grown roots in the South as a Midwest transplant. She has published poetry with Torch Literary Arts and Womanly Magazine, personal essay with Black Femme Collective, and features for Savannah Morning News and Savannah Magazine. For three years, she taught after school creative writing and poetry workshops for middle and high school students. 

Course Takeaways

• Direction on sending your work and approaching publishers
• Draft a cover letter, essay pitch, and query letter during class
• Establish a time-based submission strategy

Course Expectations

• An open mind
• Be your beautiful self
• Ask questions

We offer full refunds for cancellation with written notice up until 7 days before your class start date. From 6 days to more than 24 hours before class begins, we offer a 25% refund. If you drop a class less than 24 hours before the class begins or after it has started, you are ineligible for a refund.