“I am obnoxious to each carping tongue/ who says my hand a needle better fits.”

— Anne Bradstreet, Prologue

What do you do that is obnoxious to others but you love? How do you break the status quo? Write a dialogue between someone who is prudish and doesn’t like what another character is doing, and a character that is doing something they are passionate about. Write from either perspective. How do the characters feel about one another? How does the conflict escalate?

This exercise can help you strengthen your dialogue skills along with outer conflict and character relations. Remember to include actions but avoid adverbs. Don’t bog your reader down with too much action, and remember, saying “he/ she/ they said,” rather than “he/ she/ they sighed/ laughed/ grumbled” etc. is the simplest and most effective phrase. Make sure your reader can easily keep up with who is talking.