Writing Dialogue (Lit Starts)

A book of writing prompts from the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto, authors of the best-selling 642 Things series.

Focus on a single aspect of the craft of writing with help from the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto. Writing Dialogue begins with a foreword by author and educator Shanthi Sekaran, who offers pointers for creating believable speech in your fiction. The rest of the book consists of prompts and space to think, providing opportunities to explore how dialogue can bring your characters and plotlines to life. Among other ideas, you’ll be asked to write speech for:

• a pent-up confession of love 

• a family’s reaction when dinner is ruined 

• a job interview in which the interviewee has all the power 

• a first date that is going well (and then not so well) 

• a toast at a dinner party, honoring someone who has wronged you 


Take to a café, on vacation, or on your morning commute and practice your creative writing a little bit at a time.

Special Features

• Advice from a published writer, followed by prompts
• Part of a collection of single-subject writing prompt books by the San Francisco Writers’ Grotto

Check out the other books in the Lit Starts series: Writing Action, Writing Character, and Writing Humor