Week Four: Dialogue
Mon, 2/24: Journal #2: 750 words.
Required topic: go to a cafe (or some other place where people are talking) and listen to people's dialogue.
Try to write down snippets of their speech.
In addition, make notes on the way people talk.
Also, observe the gestures and movement and facial expressions that accompany the way people converse.
You need only write a few words on this topic then move onto another topic of your own choice.
Also, read "Hills Like White Elephants" in your reader. Pay attention to how Hemingway uses dialogue to craft his story. How does literary dialogue differ from actual dialogue you overhear?
Tues 2/25: Read Chapter 3, "Building Character: Characterization Part 1" (73-89) in Writing Fiction. Please read this chapter carefully!
Also, be working on your 900 word story due Monday, 3/3.
Thurs, 2/27: There are two parts to tonight's assignment:
Read "The Rememberer" in your reader.
Write a 200 word short story based on dialogue. Specific instructions on your class website:
Fri, 2/28: Journal entry tonight.
Please label: "2/28--Dialogue Exercise"
Word count: 500 words
CHOOSE
Option 1: Make a difficult, crazy or impossible request of someone and then write a dialogue based on the incident or describe the experience.
Be sensitive so that you don't offend the other person
Don't pick someone with less power than you
Pick someone who won't mind you're doing the exercise on them
Tell them what you were doing afterwards
OR
Option 2: Imagine if you met someone who looks exactly like you. What would your dialogue sound like?