Breakout Session Create (Craft)

Don’t Kill Me With Your Words: Writing Authentic Dialogue That Doesn’t Suck (Create A2)


Heritage A August 25, 2018 10:00 am - 11:00 am

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Elane Johnson

“Admit it,” I said. “Writing dialogue is difficult.”

“Preach,” y’all said.

“And don’t even get me started on writing conversations in nonfiction.”

“Uggggggggh,” y’all replied, looking queasy.

“Phhhhht. I’ve got this. You wanna capture the way real people speak? Learn how to say SO much with what you don’t say?”

“Hell, yeah,” y’all said.

“Look: For authentic dialogue, you can’t shortchange your syntax and diction. But, I’ve got this! I can show you how to create dialogue that propels the action, that has underlying meaning, that ‘shows instead of tells.’ Oh—annnnnnnd most importantly, that doesn’t suck!”

“Yaaaaaay,” y’all exclaimed.

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