#WriteCBC tip and task from Jessica Bull
BY Jessica Bull
6th Nov 2025
Welcome to our November 2025 #WriteCBC prompt challenge. I hope you’re ready to be inspired by our latest tip and task! If you haven’t taken part in a #WriteCBC competition before, we’re excited to welcome you to our writing community. Please note that #WriteCBC is now hosted on Bluesky. Get up to speed by reading our blog full of information about how to play and the prizes on offer. It’s a lot of fun, and you might just win a free place on one of our online writing courses (worth up to £230).
This month’s special guest is Jessica Bull, author of the Miss Austen Investigates historical mystery series. Jessica was a student on our Writing Historical Fiction and Edit & Pitch Your Novel courses. Her third novel, The Austen Christmas Murders, is out on 13 Nov with Penguin Michael Joseph.
Jessica's Writing Tip:
- Highlight the disparity between what your characters say and what they understand from each other. You can convey so much more by describing their demeanour and internal reflections than by dialogue alone, and the friction will keep your readers hooked!
Jane Austen was the absolute queen of portraying micro aggressions between characters using this very technique. In this festive novella, I have had great fun imagining the minor resentments and misunderstandings that might have occurred within her own circle as they are confined together over the Christmas period.
Read this snippet from The Austen Christmas Murders, where Jane interprets her sister-in-law, Mary’s words, and relays the impact her prolonged presence at Steventon Rectory is having on the wider Austen family:
‘"I must say, this old chimneypiece does very well." Mary, in Mr Austen’s usual armchair, reclines in the family parlour, her feet propped on Jane’s piano stool, to nurse Edward, as the family wait to hear the outcome of Mr Craven’s examination of James’s grim discovery. "It’s not as elegant as the one at Deane, I grant you. But that always smokes, no matter how recently the chimney has been swept."
With Mary’s constant remarks on the superiority of the rectory to the parsonage, Jane is beginning to fear she is anticipating a day when she might be mistress here. Perhaps that is why Mrs Austen has been gritting her teeth since her daughter-in-law’s arrival.'
This brings us on perfectly to Jessica’s prompt . . .
Jessica's Writing Task:
- Write an exchange in which a character says one thing but communicates something else entirely. Allow your narrator to draw their own conclusions as to what is really being said. Extra points if you make it festive!
When you’re crafting a scene like this, think about contrast and focus on what is being left unsaid. You may choose to keep the tone bright, but let a quiet truth slip though in the pauses or the narrator’s observations. The tension comes not from what’s spoken, but from what’s carefully avoided.
Here are a few more tips to inspire you:
- Keep it simple. Try to keep your dialogue short and real. Dialogue should mimic speech, not replicate it ad verbatim. Aim for succinct, purposeful lines that capture the rhythm of actual speech while moving the scene forward.
- Give your characters a backstory. Remembering the background of your characters is important when writing dialogue: where they come from, what their education is etc. Think it through and consider how it would affect the way they talk.
- Make the language work with the emotion of the situation. Consider the situation and emotions of your character when choosing the words and the extent to which your character can articulate clearly.
We can’t wait to read your Bluesky post-length scenes. Reply to us over on @cbcreative.bsky.social with your responses to Jessica’s task and you might win a free six-week online writing course place. Competition closes Fri 7 Nov, 10am (the winner will be announced on Bluesky and this blog at 11am).
Congratulations to this month’s winner, @camillewrites.bsky.social!
- "Sure you don't want to come in?" She asks absently through an already closing door. Mulled wine has stained her lips and cheeks crimson, candlelight dances in her eyes. "No, no, I'm fine!" I simper, slipping on the icy doormat in my haste to leave, blushing with cold or embarrassment. Hands empty.
What a fantastic entry! We absolutely loved how you conveyed the quiet sting of rejection in this festive scene. The subtle details of the closing door and the empty hands work together to reveal a hidden tension beneath the surface. It’s a brilliant example of saying one thing while meaning another. You really nailed Jessica’s #WriteCBC task! Well done, Camille – you’ve earned a free place on an online writing course (worth up to £230).
And well done to this month’s runners-up – each getting a £50 course discount – @heatherjb10.bsky.social and @tilivia.bsky.social. Congratulations, all!
To redeem your prizes, please email help@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk
Stay tuned for our #CBCWinterStory25 challenge on Instagram – more details coming soon!
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