Look through your book for key dialogues. Note the chapter and page numbers. For each dialogue, make a four column chart. Head the four columns this way: Name, Before, During, After. Now ask yourself these questions about the relationship between the characters who are involved in the dialogue. Try to give a one or two word description in the boxes:

Under the name column, put their names, for example:

• John
• Mary

Read the dialogue twice. Each time, concentrate on only one character's point of view. Put your answers in the present tense. Ask how does John feel, not how did John feel?

Before they started to talk:

• How does John feel about Mary?

During the dialogue:

• How does John feel about Mary?

After the dialogue:

• How does John feel about Mary?

Don't use “no change” – if John was upset before, during, and after, put “upset” in each column for John.

Now, read it again, this time, imagining that you are Mary.

Before they started to talk:

• How does Mary feel about John?

During the dialogue:

• How does Mary feel about John?

After the dialogue:

• How does Mary feel about John?

Now look at your chart. You should be able to tell who has changed as a result of the dialogue, and have some idea why. Is it because of something someone said, or perhaps because of the way it was said?

This is a lot of work, but it will help you vivify the conversations between your characters. Do this for all the important dialogues in your book. Give yourself the time to do a thorough job.