Writing Dialogue with Lillie Gardner

Dialogue is so important to the scenes we write, whether in a screenplay or a short story. It can communicate the tone of the story, move the plot forward, express important information, reveal insights into our characters, and make the world come to life. In this session, we’ll learn about the different roles dialogue can play and how to make our dialogue feel more distinct to our characters and essential to our stories. We’ll read excerpts from books and watch clips from films to analyze examples of good dialogue in action. Then we’ll use playful generative writing exercises to explore these concepts on the page. Participants will leave with practical tips for how to improve dialogue in their own projects, no matter the medium.

Class meets in person Tuesday, March 31, 9 am – noon.

Class size: Minimum 5, maximum 15.

Member discount: Members of Write On receive a 10% discount on all classes and workshops. To become a member, please click here. To receive the discount, members must log in to the website using their unique password and enter member10 in the promotion code box. The code is case sensitive.

Teaching Artist: Lillie Gardner is a writer of prose and screenplays from St. Paul, Minnesota. Her female-driven stories often explore how our belief systems both help us and hold us back. Lillie’s prose has been published in Quail Bell Magazine, Delmarva Review, Long River Review and more. She serves on the essays reading panel for Hippocampus Magazine and is writing a memoir about her past as a classical pianist. As a screenwriter, Lillie has been a Winner at Austin Film Festival, Catalyst Festival and Roadmap Writers’ Pitching Madness Tournament in addition to many other accolades. She was recently featured in MovieMaker Magazine’s “25 Screenwriters to Watch” list and is currently a fellow in the Hollywood Radio & Television Society Foundation’s 2025 Fellowship Program.