dialogue-craft

name	dialogue-craft
description	Draft or revise dialogue-heavy scenes where each exchange reveals desire, conceals fear, and shifts power through subtext.

Dialogue Craft

Use this skill when drafting or revising dialogue-heavy fiction scenes.

Principles

• Give each speaker a distinct rhythm, vocabulary, and pressure point.
• Let dialogue do more than exchange information: reveal desire, conceal fear, escalate conflict, or shift power.
• Break long exchanges with action beats only when they change the emotional or tactical position.
• Prefer subtext over direct explanation when characters have reasons to hide what they mean.

Checklist

• Who wants what in this exchange?
• What is each speaker avoiding saying?
• Does the final line change the scene's direction?
• Can any explanatory line become action, silence, interruption, or implication?