How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript (Bell on Writing)

All the books I've written to this point have been nonfiction. Having completed my first draft of my first novel, a very helpful; editor/publisher told me one thing I really need to work on is my dialog. It's true, and having read this book by James Scott Bell, I learned a ton. This book is a quick read, but in its pages, Bell lays out a ton of information with many great examples from classic books and some of his own titles to boot. Bell is creative and innovative and this book even contains some well placed humor. This makes for a very informative book that is a pleasure to read. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and plan to refer to it often as I proceed to work up my second draft. If you're thinking about writing fiction, you need to check this book out.

If you judge a book by how much it teaches you that you really needed to know, then this is a great book. 5 Stars plus! The author just flat out shows you how to punctuate all types of dialogue. I’m sure there are grammar books that might different on a point or two but everything Bell did made perfect sense to me. It all was simple to understand and it convinced me to adopt his suggestions. The rest of the book is about all aspects of dialogue and it is exactly like I most want a 'how to' book to be written. The text reads like an experienced trail lawyer zeroing in on a cross examination. Short, to the point, and powerful. A typical academic author could easily have made this book three times longer while saying less. Bell is one of the best live teachers I've ever had and he writes as well as he teaches. If you can go to one of James Scott Bell's seminars, do it. If you seek help on writing better dialogue, it would be hard to find a better book.

This book offers a few great tips, exercises, and ideas. Overall I’m glad I picked it up. But I feel a bit like we weren’t let in on the deeper secrets; that somehow how more elevating ideas were left off the page. Yes, I’m glad I read it, but I wish there were more - or at least I come away feeling like there was more, we just weren’t privy. Like writing itself, dialog is a skill, but also an intuitive exercise. For some it seems to come naturally (I can only imagine the inside of Aaron Sorkin’s mind) flowing like water over the falls, while for others, work, practice, and skills come in handy, but are earned. Some will take their work, effort, and accumulated knowledge and develop their skills to workable, even admirable levels. Others still can only beat out words with blood, sweat, and tears the vehicle on while they are delivered. In reading this book I felt as if it were the basics and we’d get to a higher level, eventually. But we never got there. Again, I am glad I got it, have it for future reference, but I come away feeling not completely wowed nor guided. Writing and writing dialog come to each of us differently. This was a nice step along the path of professional development.

This Is a great book on writing dialogue, and it helped me out a lot. So far, actually, this is the best dialogue book that I have come across thus far. Bell explains the structure of good, dialogue that doesn't slow the reader down but keeps him or her interested. He teaches the proper way to write dialect, thoughts, how not to write dialogue and more. I must say that I am a satisfied customer and would surely recommend this book to anyone. If you want to learn how to improve your manuscript fast and effectively, this is the book to get, for good dialogue is the essential for good writing. The only problem is that is not a very extensive book, only 136 pages long. It was fun to read though, and I finished it up in a single morning. Altogether, this book is well worth the price, and will help you improve your book.

Concise and straight to the point, this book doesn't waste time with fluffed up analogies or boring tangents, like some other books on writing tend to do. This was short enough that I was able to finish in just a few hours, while still taking away a lot of useful information.

Good advice and a quick read - you are unlikely to regret reading the book. However, since the most useful parts seem to be excerpts showing great dialogue from famous literature and film scripts, one cannot escape the feeling that he'd do equally well skipping the book altogether and reading great literature instead, paying attention to how the authors crafted their dialogues and how these helped shape their characters and advance the narrative.

If you are a budding writer or someone who wants to hone up on you fictional writing skills, you need to get anything written by Bell. His is the best guidance I have found in the more than 50+ books I have to help me become a better fictional writer. He is clear and to the point in all his books. I was struggling with dialogue and read everything I could find on the subject. When I finished Bell's book the proverbial light went on and I saw how to do mine better, and this is now my Dialogue bible. I find myself re-reading different sections of the book whenever I struggle with a scene between two or more individuals. It is evident that Bell has had a great deal of first-hand experience with the techniques that he shares, and a great depth and understanding of great author's techniques. I strongly recommend his "Dazzling Dialogue" book.

This is the second of JSBs books I've read on writing. I like his style and method. My degree is in business, not writing, but one of my favorite experiences in school was to learn a subject from someone who professionally practiced the subject. Luckily for me, most of my teachers professionally practiced their subjects in business which is why I look fondly on that education. I also look fondly on JSBs teaching books because it is so evident that his practical advice comes from experience as well as education. His knack for boiling a topic down to the essentials and, subject after subject, threading the needle precisely with just the right amount of information to convey the idea convincingly has me convinced that I should have picked his books up years ago. I would have been so much further along as a writer than I am now. Better late than never though. His ideas have already improved my writing. I highly recommend How to Write Dazzling Dialogue to you. This information is a bargain and invaluable. Go ahead and make the purchase.

The book itself might be very good and helpful, I can’t really tell because it’s hard to read when printing is missing on every left page throughout almost the whole book.

Great book on mastering dialogue for fiction writing! Has to be one of the best sources out there!

Loved some his advise. Hard to put down. Hope I remember it when I need it most. Will come back to this book often.

This is probably the quickest I've ever read a book from start to finish, a few hours! It makes perfect sense, so many simple yet overwhelming effective tips and techniques. James has split the book into easy to digest sections. My book has almost every page turned over with the inside cover full of notes. I will be using this book as reference for every stage of my writing process from now on. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to write a novel worth reading.

The book is definitely useful, but i didnt like lengthy dialogues taken from other books for explanation. The book by Rayne Hall is better with more interesting and actionable suggestions