Hone your stylistic fiction-editing skills

Edit dialogue with confidence

This self-paced course teaches editors and writers how to fix stylistic problems in dialogue that are interfering with pace, purpose and reader engagement.

The learning includes a suite of downloadable practice questions and model answers so that you can test what you’ve learned.

Learning outcomes

After completing this course, you'll understand how to assess dialogue and use your line-editing skills to help your author:
  • write purposeful and balanced dialogue
  • avoid backstory-laden speech
  • fix ineffective and intrusive speech tags
  • spice up mundane speech
  • create rhythm that mirrors mood
  • use dialogue as a suspense tool
  • craft implied dialogue
  • ​amend distracting speech tags
  • ground speech in the environment
  • use free indirect speech
  • manage accents, dialect and idiolect
  • break up dull monologues.

Price

TBC

Format

Self-paced

Access

No time restrictions

Register

The learning process

Video tutorial

Watch the video and prepare for the practice exercises.

Practice exercises

Test what you've learned from the video tutorial.

Model answers

Compare your work with how I tackled the exercises.

Transcript booklet

Download a PDF booklet featuring all of the video content.

Resource list

Discover other tools and resources to help you hone your line craft.

Closed captions

Deaf students can access a live transcript of the audiovisual content.

Who is this course suitable for?
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FICTION BEGINNERS
Beginner fiction line editors and copyeditors who are learning the foundations.
STYLISTIC IMPROVERS
​Intermediate fiction line- and copyeditors seeking to hone stylistic skills.
SPECIALISM SWITCHERS
Experienced non-fiction editors who want to switch to fiction.
SELF-EDITING AUTHORS
​Beginner and emerging novelists who are self-editing a final draft.

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