Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Day 23

English 75 Summer 2011 Day 23

  1. Bonus Points for Blog due Thursday.  You can go back to start of TKR only.
  2. Narration Bonus Points?
  3. Progress on Essay 2: 9 to go.
  4. Third Essay Assignment (Rough Draft due Thursday, Final Draft due August 8th)
    1. Vonnegut on good stories.
    2. Overall structure:  Three Chapters (Separation, Initiation, Return/Arrival)
  5. A note about when I’ll talk to you:  Three Things
  6. Dialogue Checklist.
Tips on Dialogue
In two's: I'm sorry but…
1.       The first writer pulls out a piece of paper and begins their dialogue with the words "I'm sorry, but…". They complete the sentence and pass the journal to their partner.
2.       The partner, after reading the sentence, writes a line (or paragraph) of dialogue which heightens the tension.
3.       Keep passing the journal back and forth, trying to throw curve balls at one another without delving into the absurd.
4.       Try not to rely on dialogue tags to reveal how the character is speaking.
5.       In fact, don't use dialogue tags at all. Rely on your word choice and punctuation.
Movies with great dialogue: Tarantino, Juno, Linklater, Kevin Smith, Coen Brothers, David Mamet, Casablanca, China Town, Aaron Sorkin, The Wire (David Simon), Deadwood, Sopranos.
Listen to how people talk to each other
·         Most of it is the weather.
·         He's like a bull in a china shop…
·         Eating out. Bars. Waiting rooms. Cell phone jerks. At the checkout.
Right now: Field work
·         Hub. (x6)
·         Deccio. (x3)
·         Lobby/office lobby downstairs. (x4)
·         Lobby upstairs/office lobby. (x4)
·         Library (x3)
·         Outside. (x2)
Come back in 15 minutes with dialogue.
Find a line or two.
More notes on dialogue:
Dialogue is not real speech, but it should sound like it.
·         Cut words and phrases that don't move things along
Don't use dialogue to provide exposition—keep it to three sentences or less
Break it up with action—remind us they are physical
Vary signal phrases, but keep it simple. Don't use elaborate signal phrases (she expostulated, he interjected)
Avoid stereotypes in dialect, but…
·         Huck Finn
·         To Kill a Mockingbird
Don't over use slang/profanity. "Slang goes sour in a short time." --EH
Read a lot. Note good/bad
Punctuate correctly
·         Use quotation marks?
Start a new paragraph when changing speakers.
Setting
"If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."
–Anton Chekhov 
1.       Time & Place (physical environment)
2.       TKR
For example: Greasy Lake, The Storm,  
Exercise:
    • Write about the time: (five minutes)
§  you watched light settle on the water
§  you saw the first smudge of dawn
§  you woke before the others

    • Write about something from memory that seems lit by a particular kind of light.  (from Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck)
    • There was this one tree.
5 w’s
Senses/Imagery
  1. Real Writing:  Narration--if there's time.
    1. Read 129-131; 132-134.
    2. Read 136-137
    3. Chapter Review

8 Comments:

Blogger Carly said...

The im sorry but thing we did today was really helpful and funny.

2:09 PM

 
Blogger Blaine said...

The "I'm sorry" thing we did in class today was funny. I like how the little funny things we do, help a lot!

8:10 PM

 
Blogger Armando Leyva said...

Good day in class today. This little things we do are wired but they do help you out.

8:28 PM

 
Blogger Andrea V said...

The dialogue that Apolnio read in class about the "English Teacher" was funny!

8:54 PM

 
Blogger vchavez said...

The English teacher dialogue that they read was so hilarious. Mr Peters, your face was priceless!

9:41 PM

 
Blogger Elizabeth said...

I thought it interesting to listen to two guys talk about finding weed in Yakima then move on to talk about how there isnt any good deer hunting around here. Interesting 15 minutes to say the least.

4:09 PM

 
Blogger Zsalinas7 said...

I found the "Im sorry" excerise VERY funny, and helpful since it gave us more of a stable idea on the use of dialogue.

7:05 PM

 
Blogger RyRog26 said...

Couldn't really get much dialogue at the Deccio. But perhaps if we posed as students with a registration or financial aid issue ...

3:55 AM

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home