"Are we still talking about the dishes?”
Purpose: Try to write dialogue that builds tension through subtext and disagreement while avoiding dialogue as exposition. Try to write dialogue that is tense but not overt about that tension or the factors contributing to it.
Directions: 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. To include action in your scene, (I don't want a scene with just two talking heads) have your characters moving through a specific location--a house, a mall, a school, etc--and weave their dialogue into descriptions of what they are doing.
Lastly, what is subtext anyway? And, hey, isn't this just another kind of Show Don't Tell exercise?
2-3 page scene/story due Tuesday.