Class #4EWRT 1A

Agenda

•Reading: Basic Features (40-41)•Lecture: Formatting dialogue•In-Class Writing: Practicing dialogue

BASIC FEATURES OF A NARRATIVE ESSAY

Writing dialogue

• Dialogue is an important part of any remembered event. • It shows what happens instead of telling it. For example,

you can say “she was so mad she yelled at me.” Or you can show the dialogue and let the reader “see” her mad at you.

“You did what? You threw out my best shirt?!”

“I am sorry, but I didn’t think you wanted that shirt any more. It was torn and stained”

“What kind of ass are you? Was that your shirt? No, it was mine!”

“But…..ummm”

“DON’T TOUCH MY STUFF! IN FACT, GET OUT!”

DIALOGUE MOVES THE STORY

• But we don’t just add dialogue just to say we have it. Dialogue should move the plot, too. For example, if we are out to dinner, we don’t write a page of dialogue about how we decided what to eat. It is just too boring!

“What are you going to have?”

“I dunno; how about you?”

“Oh, I can’t decide between the chicken and the fish”

“Me neither”

See my point? No one cares about this!

Formatting Dialogue

• Each speaker gets his or her own paragraph; a return and indent. This mimics real conversation, indicating pauses and so forth.

• Attributions (“He said,” “She said” and variations) should be used, but not too much, and varied so they’re not repetitious; they can be used at the start of quotations, in the middle, or at the end. When attributions are overused, they get in the way; the key is that the reader should always know who’s speaking.

• Always use a comma after attribution (She said,) when introducing a quote.•    Example:

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said.

“You lit my shirts on fire? Where’d you learn that?

“Daycare.”

“What? Daycare? You learned how to light shirts on fire at daycare? I can’t believe this kind of behavior is going on there!”

“A kid brought matches one day.”

“I’m calling your daycare.”

“No,” I said. Okay, I screamed it, and he scowled at me.

“Tell me the truth, boy.”

I took a deep breath and let it slide out: “I hate your shirts, Dad.”           

Write a scene in which one person tells another person a story. Make sure that you write it as a dialogue and not just a first person narrative; have one person telling the story and the other person listening and asking questions or making comments. The purpose of this scene will be both to have the story stand alone as a subject, and to have the characters’ reactions to the story be the focal point of the scene. Choose two of the following to write about:

1. Tell someone you live with about a robbery you just witnessed at 7-112. Tell someone you live with about a car accident you just had3. Tell someone you live with about a car accident you almost had4. Tell someone you live with about catching a person trying to pick-pocket

you5. Tell someone you live with about another event you want to write about

Exercise #1

Exercise #2

Write a short conversation between multiple people (three or more) in which no character speaks more than three or four words per line of dialogue. You can use minimal narration to enhance the scene, not explain the dialogue.

A man is walking down a deserted street after the bar closes. He moves quickly but unsteadily. Suddenly, three teenagers come out of an alley. They grab him and drag back into the alley. Write the dialogue.

HOMEWORK

• Read: HG through chapter 7. As you read, note a passage that reminds you of a personal experience.

• Post #4: The two dialogues from the in-class writing

•Bring: Your post, HG, and SMG