Gay romance fiction

Indelible Dialogue

a craft workshop for genre authors

  • Format: available in lengths from one to six hours.
  • Technical requirements: projector/screen if available.

 

Class Blurb:

INDELIBLE DIALOGUE with Damon Suede

Talk isn’t cheap. Conversations can make or break a book and help your characters pop off the page. In this hour, we’ll unpack an arsenal of tricks you can use to cut the flab in your gab and unleash unforgettable communication. Join screenwriter and novelist Damon Suede for an arsenal of nitty–gritty techniques to turn that chatter into convos that matter.

Class Description:

Indelible Dialogue is a practical workshop about creating conversations that move your readers and advance your story exponentially. In a session suitable for writers of every experience level and stylistic approach, we’ll explore:

  • the structure of fictional convos
  • techniques for believable dialogue that doesn't drag or snag.
  • the power of secrets, subtext, and context in character discussions.
  • the tricks and traps of dialogue, as well as several ways to create conversations that pop.

Dialogue is one of the most powerful ways to deepen character and worldbuild quickly. Let your words do the work, and let your characters speak their minds. Join screenwriter and novelist Damon Suede for an arsenal of nitty–gritty techniques to turn that chatter into convos that matter.

Takeaways:

  • voice exercises to develop distinct timbres for each of your characters,
  • tools for using dialogue to shape pace, scope, and character depth
  • a checklist of dialogue traps that bedevil fiction
  • Exercises to develop your on–page conversational skills.

Presentations:

  • "Indelible Dialogue" at the Long Island Romance Writers RomCon Conference in South Huntingdon, NY (November 2025)
  • "Killer Dialogue" for the Crazy Scribes in Nashville, TN (May 2023)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" at the PNWA Conference in Seattle, WA (September 2020)
  • "Dialogue Overhaul" class for MSC Writers Collective in New York, NY (November 2019)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" at Romance Writers of Calgary in Calgary, Canada (May 2019)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" at Georgia RWA in Atlanta, GA (April 2019)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" for Dallas RWA in Dallas, TX (April 2019)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" for Desert Rose RWA  in Phoenix, AZ (June 2019)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" for New Zealand Romance Writers Conference (August 2018)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" masterclass for the WRWDC Retreat in Bethesda, MD (February 2018)
  • "Dialogue Overhaul" at the Heart of Denver Minicon in Denver, CO (September 2017)
  • "Killer Dialogue" for NECRWA in Burlington, MA (April 2017)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" for Austin RWA in Austin, TX (December 2016)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" for Long Island RWA in South Huntingdon, NY (November 2016)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" for Fiction Fest Conference in Norwalk, CT (September 2016)
  • "Dialogue Overhaul" for RWANYC in New York, NY (November 2015)
  • "Indelible Dialogue" at the Liberty States Fiction Writers Conference in Iselin, NJ (March 2015)
  • "Dialogue Secrets" for RT Boot Camp (Each May, 2012–2018)

 "For an endless moment, Runt imagined the crooked corporation had folded and they’d been forgotten, laughing and living together under these perfect suns, waiting for wives that would never come, happily hunting fresh meat at the sharp edge of the galaxy." (Grown Men - D. Suede)

Back to top

 

Recommended reading:

DIALOGUE

SLANG

 

Back to top

"No one deserves to be punished for loving with an open heart." (Hot Head - D. Suede)

 

If you'd like to book Damon to come present a workshop for your group, chapter, coven, or posse, just give a holler.