Writers want sharp dialogue, compelling conflict, and characters with enough tension to keep readers turning pages.

But the problem is that conflict can easily get stuck. Characters snipe at each other, trade sarcasm, or argue at the same emotional level for too long. The scene has energy, but it does not move. The relationship does not shift. The reader starts to feel like the conversation is circling instead of building.

In this episode, Laura Humm coaches Tony Maxwell on how to make character conflict escalate, de-escalate, and actually change the relationship between characters. They discuss how to balance prose and dialogue, how to use the "zipper" technique to check the rhythm of a conversation, and how to move an enemies-to-allies dynamic from hostility into vulnerability.

They also dig into how to write an arrogant protagonist without making readers hate him, how to give both characters expertise and agency, and how to use specialized knowledge—like veterinary medicine—without turning the scene into an info dump.

You'll learn how to make dialogue feel like a tennis match, how to hide exposition inside conflict, how to use vulnerability to shift a relationship, and how to make every joke, barb, and emotional landing serve the scene.

Watch this episode if your characters have great banter but the scene still feels flat, if your exposition keeps slowing the story down, or if you're trying to write conflict that actually changes something.

For more on writing dialogue, come to DialogueDoctor.com.

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