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Moniack Mhor Online Masterclass: Dialogue for Crime Writers with Liam McIlvanney
Mon 27 Oct 2025 to Mon 27 Oct 2025
Crime fiction is a dialogue-driven genre. Its preference for scene over summary, its focus on interpersonal conflict, and its reliance on the ‘interview’ as its default narrative unit means that crime fiction depends heavily on dialogue.
This session introduces the key principles and techniques involved in crafting compelling dialogue. We explore the importance of subtext in dialogue, the conventions surrounding dialogue attribution, and the status of fictional dialogue as a stylised rendering – rather than a verbatim transcription – of the way people speak.
We examine methods of using dialogue to reveal character, to advance the action, to convey exposition and to evoke mood. The effectiveness of silence, implication and obliquity in dialogue is discussed, as are the challenges of writing dialogue when moving beyond ‘one-on-one’ interactions to larger ensemble scenes.
The session will conclude with a Q&A on any remaining queries you might have.
This masterclass is primarily aimed at crime writers with an intermediate or above level of experience. It will not include any writing exercises.
Liam McIlvanney is a Times bestselling crime writer whose awards include the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year and the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best New Zealand Crime Novel. He teaches Scottish literature and creative writing as the Stuart Professor of Scottish Studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand. He lives in Dunedin with his wife and four sons.
Date: Monday 27th October 2025, 10:00am - 12:00pm
Location: Online
Cost: Pay as you can (£30-£0)
Book your place here
Additional Information:
Location:
Online
Region(s):
International
Price:
Pay as you can (£30-£0)
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