How to write fiction that feels real: dialogue

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Slide 1: Slide
EngelsMiddelbare schoolvwoLeerjaar 5

This lesson contains 19 slides, with interactive quizzes, text slides and 2 videos.

time-iconLesson duration is: 45 min

Items in this lesson

Slide 1 - Slide

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3

Slide 2 - Video

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02:23
Give an example of something a child might say.

Slide 3 - Open question

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03:07
redundant =
A
logisch
B
overbodig
C
nodig
D
terugkerend

Slide 4 - Quiz

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02:23
Now think of something a wizard might say.

Slide 5 - Open question

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How do you show who's saying what?
  •  Often, fiction writers start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes.
  •  You can also include dialogue tags such as "he said," "she murmured," "I asked." 
  • You can skip the dialogue tags when it's obvious who's talking without them. 

Slide 6 - Slide

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Slide 7 - Slide

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Edit dialogue to trim off most of the fat.
 
A lot of what people say is just blah-blah-blah, but you don't want to bore your reader. 
 

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Slide 10 - Slide

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Show how the character speaks instead of telling it.
 
If the character speaks angrily, you can make this come through in her words -- it's therefore often not necessary to add an expressive dialogue tag such as, "she said angrily." 
The same if a character is shouting or crying, etc. 
Keep the reader's attention on your character's speech, not your explanation of it.

Slide 11 - Slide

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Now it's your turn!

Together with a classmate choose a prompt and  write a short dialogue. 
After 6 minutes you will share your dialogue with  the class: keep it decent... 



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6:00

Slide 12 - Slide

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Prompt 1: young decorator
Parent comes home from a trip and discover that his/her teenager has redecorated the house while he/she was gone. The teenager tries to convince the parent that this was a good idea.

Prompt 2: dangerous suggestion
A man suggests to his girlfriend that she get cosmetic surgery. 

Prompt 3: explain that baby
Your character kidnaps a baby. (What is the motive?) Your character's husband/wife, discovers your character changing diapers in the living room, and wants to know what's going on.

Prompt 4: reluctant roommate
Friend A thinks it would be great to share an apartment with Friend B. Friend B would rather die but wants to get out of this without hurting Friend A's feelings
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6:00

Slide 13 - Slide

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Upload a picture of your dialogue

Slide 14 - Open question

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Slide 15 - Video

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"Are we still talking about the dishes?”

Purpose of Exercise: practice writing dialogue that builds tension 
 contributing to it.

Procedure: write a scene in which two characters almost have an argument but don’t quite. The ostensible argument should be about something unimportant—cleaning, television, dishes—while the larger, unstated tension is much more significant.





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Slide 16 - Slide

Additional Information: This activity may be used in class or as a homework assignment but should be introduced with a discussion of strategies for indicating subtext. It is easy to find examples of dialogue in television shows in which people speak what should be revealed indirectly—either because they are announcing their feelings and intentions or because they are explaining context. Practicing for this exercise might start with watching one of these scenes and rewriting it so that the tension/emotions are unstated. Any episode of Grey’s Anatomy provides countless examples of characters elaborately explaining their feelings and motivations. 

Slide 17 - Link

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Slide 19 - Link

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