Author Archives: Jeff Elkins

In this episode, Dialogue Doctor Coach JP Rindfleisch sits down with narrator and audio producer Kirt Graves to talk about audiobook production. Kirt shares about how his history in debate and growing up gay helped him built the super power of empathy. He talks about how he collaborates with authors, the role of the authorContinue reading “Episode 198 – Audiobooks With JP Rindfleisch IX And Kirt Graves”

Jeff and editor/writer/bookstore owner Tom Holbrook come together to talk about what they are seeing in the book world. They talk about things they are encountering frequently as editors, stories that they’ve recently loved, stories they consumed that were broken, and about the state of publishing in general. To find Tom online, go to https://holbrookauthorservices.com/ ToContinue reading “Episode 197 – Time with Tom”

In this episode, Dialogue Doctor Coach sits down with fantasy author Mark August to talk about writing a big cast with multiple points-of-view. Laura and Mark talk about introducing lots of characters, Laura breaks down how to introduce a lot of characters, letting us know who is in the scene, and getting characters talking rightContinue reading “Episode 196 – Laura Humm and Mark August talk about Writing a Big Cast”

WARNING – this episode contains conversation about suicide and violence. If you are thinking about hurting yourself, please call 988 now. Help is available. You can speak with someone today. In this episode, we are kicking off poetry month. Jeff sits down with poet Edward Doyle-Gillespie to talk about what inspires Ed to write poetry,Continue reading “Episode 195 – Poetry Month with Edward Doyle-Gillespie (Content Warning)”

In this episode, Jeff sits down with author Jenny Wilson to talk about her cast. They work through her vehicle’s voice and how her vehicle needs to change during the story, then they talk about her surrounding cast members and how those cast members can enhance the reader’s experience. To listen on Spotify, click here.Continue reading “Episode 194 – Building a Cast that Works with Jenny Wilson”

In this episode, Jeff sits down with author Don Elliot to talk about plotting out a longer series. They talk about how to manage it, how to role it out to readers, and how to make it feel realistic. Jeff stresses in the episode that it is important to hook the reader at the scene/characterContinue reading “Episode 193 – Don Elliot and Plotting a Giant Series”

In this episode, JP Rindfleisch the IX and Jeff talk about Houston Howard’s book, You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Story. JP takes Jeff through the main points and the process together how the story might impact their writing. To find more of JP, check out https://www.jprindfleischix.com/ To listen on Spotify, click here. To listen onContinue reading “Episode 192 – JP Joint – You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Story”

In this episode, Jeff sits down with author Eric Heuser to look at a scene Eric is working on. Jeff and Eric talk about adding a POV to a work in progress, building emotional resonance, writing a character with a different interior and exterior voice, using reflective prose in segment breaks to give the readerContinue reading “Episode 191 – Eric Heuser and Adding Inner Monologue”

In this episode, Laura and Jeff answer questions from the Dialoggers. Questions include: –Suggestions for plotting and planning a longer series, –How to write dialogue in a group scene where you have six or more characters in the discussion? –When trying to establish characters, world, and show the ‘normal’ state of life for them, howContinue reading “Episode 190 – Laura and Jeff Q&A”

In this episode, Jeff sits down with Scott Fishman to talk about the memoir Scott is writing. They talk about the use of italics, using paragraph spacing to break up blocks of text making it more readable, using conversational spacing to create the feeling of dialogue, building to a dramatic summary conclusion at the endContinue reading “Episode 189 – Scott Fishman and Using Dialogue in Memoir”