The Dialogue Doctor Podcast

How do you write a scene where everything is going wrong at once—without losing the reader in the chaos? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast , Jeff Elkins sits down with author Carol Francis to work through an ambitious work in progress. Carol's protagonist, sixteen-year-old Ella, is already carrying the trauma of her father's death and anxiety about the heart condition she inherited fr...

Why do some characters grab us almost immediately while others never quite come alive? You can have an exciting plot. You can have beautiful worldbuilding. You can have a character you know intimately. And readers can still say, "I just don't connect with them." In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast , Jeff Elkins sits down with developmental editor Liz Woodwiss to explore what she calls e...

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 Behrens to work through a scene from her novel and examine one of the trickiest parts of writing emotion: How much space does an emotional change need? Hazel is writing a novel about Liz, a woman struggling with the death of her only...

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 Rindfleisch IX, Tom Holbrook, Crys Cain, Jeff Elkins, and Holly Lyne get together for another brutally practical check-in on their writing careers and author businesses. Everybody brings something different to the table. Crys is continuing...

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 sits down with author Joan Lightning to work through a scene from her epic fantasy novel A Jealous God . Joan's protagonist, Cherix, presents an unusual writing challenge. He has spent his life inside a culture that has left him d...

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 down with members of the Dialogue Doctor community to dig into Carver's famous short story and figure out exactly what writers can learn from it. "Cathedral" has an almost absurdly simple premise: a man, his wife, and her blind fr...

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 with Dennis Kurlas on a reflective scene from Dennis's novel. The scene follows Margo as she meets her friend Fran for lunch and prepares to reveal something deeply personal: she has feelings for two different men. On the surface,...

Can the Enneagram actually help you write better characters? Or is it just pseudoscience with numbers, occult-looking diagrams, interpretive dance, and a suspicious amount of personality-test confidence? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast , Jeff Elkins sits down with JP Rindfleisch IX to talk about the Enneagram as a tool for writers. Jeff and JP approach the topic with the right amoun...

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 Malcolm Coon to work through the opening of Malcolm's fantasy heist novel. Malcolm has built an epic fantasy world loosely inspired by a D&D world he created with his brother when they were kids. Now he is turning that world into a...

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 conversation, JP Rindfleisch IX, Holly Lyne, Jeff Elkins, Tom Holbrook, and Crys Cain check in on their writing lives, business experiments, marketing wins, publishing frustrations, and the strange emotional math of trying to build an...

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 think like a publisher. Tony has worked across comics, screenplays, licensed fiction, journalism, audio drama, and novels. In this conversation, he shares what those different forms taught him about compression, dialogue, character,...

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 Aubrey W to talk through one of the hardest emotional arcs to pull off: repentance. Aubrey is working on a thriller built around a character who has done real harm, but she does not want the reader simply waiting for punishment. She wan...

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: Brand New Day and Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. But this is not just a movie review. It is a craft conversation for authors. Jeff and Tom dig into why some stories feel emotionally satisfying while others feel impressive but dista...

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? In this episode of The Dialogue Doctor Podcast, Jeff Elkins sits down with author Jed to look at the opening chapters of a corporate thriller with a romantic subplot. Jed's story begins with a stolen item, a veiled threat, a high-pres...

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 any one author guru wants to admit? In this episode of Write, Wrong, Repeat , Holly Lyne, Jeff Elkins, JP Rindfleisch IX, Crys Cain, and Tom Holbrook get honest about the current state of the author business. The conversation starts w...

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 Wr...

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 com...

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 Da...

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 Da...

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 revi...

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 Glady...

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...

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 protag...

Writers want opening chapters that showcase their voice, introduce an unforgettable character, and make readers desperate to continue. But a strong voice can become self-indulgent. The narrator may entertain the reader without moving the story forward, explaining too much, repeating the same joke, or delaying the moment when something actually happens. In a writing competition, where judges are ac...

Writers want to create stories with unforgettable endings, powerful dialogue, and characters readers genuinely care about. But the problem is that we often spend most of our energy on the external plot: solving the murder, winning the trial, defeating the villain, or uncovering the truth. Those events create pressure, but they are not necessarily what makes the audience feel satisfied when the sto...