Unit 7, Dialogue

Journal: Two Sides of the Self Imagine that you have a little angel on one of your shoulders, and a little devil on the other side (like in the old Tom and Jerry or Warner Bros. Cartoons). Divide a piece of paper into two halves. Label one side Good and label the other side Bad/Evil. Take a moment, breath, and let these two haves of yourself discuss or argue about a subject. Write for 5 10 minutes. Afterwards, read over the dialogue. What does this reveal about yourself inner conflicts, the two sides to yourself, and how you perceive the terms good and bad? (Note, you can also do this with the labels public and private. This leads to interesting reflection on a persons secrets, and how he presents himself to the world.)

Introduction: Dialogue: what is it? Its words, its sounds, its rhythm simply put, and its music. Perhaps this is why great dialogue, like great music, soars off the page, and why awkward dialogue clunks about or flat-lines halfway through a scene.

The writers orchestra is made up of characters: their words, silences, the pace and quality with which they speak these are their instruments. A script is the writers symphony. When a symphonic composer wants a section of the music to swell, he calls upon the strings. Should he require a wail, a squeak, or a piercing melodic line, the reeds are close at hand. And if the piece demands a backbeat or punctuation, he needs look no further than the percussionist.

Step 1: Reading about Dialogue. Read the chapter Dialogue in Bird by bird. Answer these questions: 1. What are the three suggestions Lammott gives writers when starting with dialogue? 2. What does she say about villains?
3. What does she say not to do?

4. How should writers understand their characters?

5. Why does she advise writers avoid writing dialogue in vernacular

speech?

Unit 7, Dialogue

Step 2: Understanding Dialogue. Read the chapter Dialogue (pg. 4450) from The Portable MFA in Creative Writing. Define the following terms: Direct Dialogue, indirect dialogue, stylized dialogue, asynchronous dialogue, dialogue tags. Then, complete the Practicing Dialogue activity on pg. 48.

Step 3: Observing Dialogue in text. Read the following texts: Hills like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway. An excerpt from the script of Juno An excerpt from the script Donnie Darko Supertoys last all summer long by Brian Aldiss Then, choose two and answer the accompanying questions.

Step 4: Record! Check out the audio recorder from your English Facilitator. During class or lunch, you will record about 10 minutes of a natural conversation. Take the recorder to lunch, and leave it on. You may want to ask your friends for permission to record, but do not tell them when you turn it on. You want them to speak as naturally as possible and not pay attention to the fact that they are being recorded. Remember, you want authentic conversation, including interruptions, pauses, subject changes, slang, etc The goal of this activity is to experience natural dialogue.

Step 5: Putting it on paper. Transcribe 3-5 minutes portion of your recording. Choose the most interesting part of the conversation. Transcribe your dialogue in a script format.

Step 6: Revision. Choose one of the ways to write dialogue from the chapter (Direct Dialogue, indirect dialogue, stylized dialogue, asynchronous dialogue). Rewrite your transcription using one of these styles. Feel free to

Unit 7, Dialogue
build the scene, add detail, action, or anything you want to make it interesting.

Submission Check List: __ Journal ___ Dialogue Questions ___ Definitions ___ Dialogue Practice ___ Recorded Transcript ___ Final Revision