I'm just home from my final writing workshop at Hebrew Academy. Today, we talked about dialogue and how it can help bring a story to life. We also discussed how dialogue that doesn't work can distract readers from the story you want to tell. Because it was our final workshop, I gave the students a little more time than usual to work on their stories -- and then to share them with the restof the group. Here are some of the neat things the students came up with:
Noah is working on a story about a black teenager who is accused of stealing. After a cashier speaks rudely to him, the teen says: "I ain't rubbish!" That line really helps us get to know Noah's main character and to sense his frustration.
Eric is working on a story about boxing. When his narrator gets walloped by his opponent, the coach calls out: "You're better than this! What were you thinking?" Here too, we can HEAR the COACH'S VOICE -- which is what creating dialogue is all about: capturing voices.
I told the students how I like to hone my dialogue-writing skills by LISTENING IN ON OTHER PEOPLE'S CONVERSATIONS. Some people might think this is rude, but try it and you'll see it works -- just don't be too obvious about it!!
Talia is writing about two girls who meet up at school. Her narrator says this about her teacher Mrs. Olive: "She's not an old warty toad like the rest of the teachers." I thought that was a great descriptive line.
One of the most fun parts of working with the students at Hebrew Academy is seeing how easily writing comes to them. If I asked my students at Marianopolis to produce a piece of writing in 20 minutes -- or if someone asked me to do that -- we'd probably all freeze, at least at first. But these kids just go for it. I think it has something to do with being the age they are (they're in grades five and six). They haven't learned to worry about how good they are the way older people tend to do. So perhaps these youngsters have something to teach the rest of us: not to worry too much, and just to get down to our writing and do it. On that note, I'm going back to polish up the final draft of What World Is Left. Hey, I haven't told you some cool news: I'm going to be away for a few days next week. I've been invited to participate in "Livres en fete!" -- a literary festival in the Gaspe. Fun, fun, fun!!