This is the book dramatic writers have been looking for! Talk the Talk is an essential guide to the art of writing great dialogue. Teachers and students alike will find its sound advice and step-by-step approach invaluable and inspiring.

-Rebecca Gilman, Playwright and Screenwriter. Author of Spinning Into Butter and Boy Gets Girl. Assistant Professor in Northwestern University's MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage Program.

Tyros, teachers, and professional writers will all find something to take away from Talk the Talk which includes exercises, rewriting guidelines, and even physics diagrams! Its discussion of status-- its effect on dialogue, and how it shifts in various contexts--was particularly illuminating.

-Wendy MacLeod, Playwright and Screenwriter. Author of The House of Yes, Schoolgirl Figure and Juvenilia. Playwright-in-Residence at Kenyon College.

Although Talk the Talk is a must-read for student and aspiring screenwriters, it also should be heralded as a fantastic resource for professionals. The exercises are simple, yet thought-provoking, and are easily adjusted for television, film or theatre. Talk the Talk will certainly help writers of all levels break free of old ruts and look at dialogue in a fresh, dynamic, creative way!

-Steve Baldikoski, Television Writer & Producer; Glenn Martin DDS; 8 Simple Rules for Dating my Teenage Daughter; Andy Richter Controls the Universe

Talk the Talk is a must for screenwriters. It is filled with insightful tips, ingenious tricks and potent techniques. Penny Penniston puts it all together in easy-to-understand lessons and smart exercises. Put this book in action and see your dialogue leap off the page.

-Joan Scott, Founder of Writers & Artists Agency and Joan Scott Management

Talk the Talk opened my eyes to new ways of looking at developing characters and their dialogue. In a very clear and well-ordered series of lectures and exercises, Penniston helps the reader - and the reader's writing group - understand and apply all the influences that bear upon a character as he or she speaks. Highly recommended for course work or for the individual.

-Paul Chitlik, Author of Rewrite: A Step-by-Step guide to Strengthen Structure, Characters, and Drama in Your Screenplay. Writer for The New Twilight Zone, Brothers, and Alien Abduction. Winner of the Genesis Award

Talk the Talk is an accessible and wonderfully helpful book; for those writing screenplays and especially those coaching screenwriters, Penniston has focused on the task of creating believable, necessary and thought-provoking dialogue. Full of exercises, examples and great advice - her goal is to illuminate why, where and when dialogue is needed – and not needed - and its role in the success of any screenplay.

-Jule Selbo, Screenwriter. Associate Professor and Lead of Screenwriting Program at California State University, Fullerton

The most important thing to any screenwriter is getting the audience inside the characters' heads. I want the audience to know these people and feel what they are feeling, so the movie comes alive. A big part of that is the character's voice - how they sound, their idiom, their attitude. Talk the Talk is packed with all sorts of tools to help capture that so the characters breathe, stand up, and come alive.

-Shawn Lawrence Otto, Screenwriter & Co-Producer of House of Sand and Fog

Screenwriters hear voices -- yes, we do! Through plenty of examples and exercises to strengthen your dialogue muscles, Penny Penniston's book, Talk the Talk, will help you determine which characters should be allowed to speak and what they should say, depending on their importance to your story.

-Mary J. Schirmer, Screenwriter, writing instructor & film critic