George Saunders says, “Bad dialogue is when A asks a question and B answers it,” while good dialogue is like two people “firing missiles past each other.” From said-bookisms (the substitution of complicated synonymns for the word “said”) to As-you-know-Bobs (using dialogue for the purpose of redundant expository summary), the perils of dialogue are many—but the opportunities are also infinite. Good dialogue can betray characters’ socioeconomic backgrounds; reveal their conscious desires and unconscious biases; hint at otherwise unspoken nuances in their relationships; and make for plotty, propulsive reading.
In this course, we'll get deep into the mechanics, stylistics, and possibilities of written dialogue. We'll close-read some passages from masters of dialogue in different genres (e.g. George Saunders, Paul Beatty, Agatha Christie, Kevin Kwan, Robert Altman, Nora Ephron) to see what makes great dialogue tick. We'll revise short passages of dialogue from our own works-in-progress. And we'll leave with new tools and tricks by which to craft great dialogue going forward in our own writing.
This intensive is best suited for writers of fiction and nonfiction who have already produced at least a partial draft of an extant work-in-progress.
COURSE TAKEAWAYS:
- Revision of an existing passage of dialogue from your work-in-progress
- A handy list of dos and don'ts for crafting great dialogue in the future
- A deeper working knowledge of what makes compelling, readable dialogue in prose
- Access to Catapult's list of writing opportunities and important submission deadlines, as well as a 10% discount on all future Catapult classes
COURSE EXPECTATIONS:
In advance of the class, students are invited to submit up to one single-spaced page of dialogue (with minimal narrative exposition) for workshop by the group.