Lesson:
We turned in our descriptions of food and flying phones.
We had our story planning sheet stamped for credit.
If absent, be sure these things get done.
Talked about dialogue in stories.
Dialogue rules
Dialogue is not conversation. Real conversation is dead boring to read. Create the illusion of real conversation.
Intersperse descriptive narration with your dialogue to give it detail and context.
In other words: show, don’t tell
Don’t overuse “he said” or “she said”
Don’t overuse the alternatives (for example “he shrieked”)
Don’t overuse dialogue tags
“Say, Joe, what is that you’re doing”
“Well, Sam, I’m fixing my car.”
“I didn’t know it was broken, Joe.”
“You know my car is always breaking down, Sam”
Here is a piece of dialogue that needs work:
“Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?” Jamie asked.
“Yeah, What’s up?” Samantha asked.
“I can’t believe it. I’m going to be the lead in the musical,” Jessica said.
“That’s great,” Jamie said.
“How in the world are you going to work that into your schedule?” Samantha asked.
“I’ll manage,” Jessica said. “Just don’t worry.”
Here is a way to fix it using the dialogue rules:
Jessica came bounding down the stairs with a smile on her face. She was going so fast that she practically ran in to Jamie and Samantha.
“Hey, where are you going in such a hurry?” Jamie asked, puzzled.
Samantha was just as confused as Jamie was. “Yeah. What’s up?” she asked impatiently.
Jessica’s heart leapt as she shared the news. “Oh! I just got the best news. I’m going to be the lead in the musical.”
“That’s great.” said Jamie, trying to summon up some enthusiasm. Deep down, she felt a stab of jealousy. She had wanted the part so badly, and now her best friend had gotten it. She tried to imagine what Jessica would look like on stage in the lead role, singing the songs she was supposed to have sung.
Samantha tapped on Jessica’s books impatiently. “How in the world are you going to work that into your schedule?” she asked. Samantha knew from experience that Jessica had trouble managing her time. She canceled their plans to study together twice in one week.
Jessica took a long look at her friends. Then she mentally reviewed her list of activities.
“I’ll manage,” she said, with a casual nod. “Just don’t worry.”
Can you see a big difference?
If you are absent, create a one page dialogue for the picture above. Look up correct punctuation on-line. Turn it in next clas for credit.
HMWK: One page of dialogue (if you were in class, it should be about Australia using Aussie slang. If you weren't in class, use the above picture.
Rough draft of the travel story is due next class (about three pages, typed, 12 point font, double spaced)
Projects:
Becoming your Author
Click on the Lit assignments link on the left side to get this.
