Class Description
Charles Baxter wrote that the "best and most artful dialogue is marked by the inattentiveness of its characters.” Creating dialogue that delivers meaning in a scene is only half the battle; making that dialogue reflect the disconnections, inattentions, and conflicting agendas that are part of much human conversation is the other, even harder, half. In this advanced craft workshop, we’ll discuss five strategies to make dialogue more effective by making it do more work within the story. We’ll look at published examples, and practice techniques through in-class exercises. Bring a draft of one of your stories to work on.
Part of GrubStreet's Advanced Craft Series, led by Ron MacLean and dedicated to the exploration of advanced elements of craft in fiction. Classes include:
- Advanced Craft Series: Emotional Context
- Advanced Craft Series: Motion Beyond Plot
- Advanced Craft Series: Grounding
- Advanced Craft Series: Narrative Distance
- Advanced Craft Series: Double Duty Dialogue
- Advanced Craft Series: Raising the Stakes
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!
Zoom Participation:
Students are not required to turn their camera on, but are encouraged to participate any way they feel comfortable through functions such as the live chat, emoji reactions, and unmuting the microphone. Learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
We ask that instructors enable closed captioning and send a transcript of the session after class. You can also enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting. If your instructor forgets to send the transcript, just send ’em an email!