WRITING DIALECT
Dialect is heard with the eyes. It is one of the most contrived elements of fiction and must be handled well to avoid turning characters into superficial stereotypes. Learn ways to create dialogue that sounds real and conveys a character's speech patterns, without burdening your readers with "sounds" that are hard to read.
Week 1: The Job of Dialogue: to convey information, advance the plot, make compicated developments understandable, and to define and reveal character.
Week 2: Using Dialect to Reveal Character
Week 3: Aspects of Dialect: rhythm, word choice, foreign terms, slang
Week 4: Aspects of Dialect: jargon, gestures, world view, metaphors
Week 5: Individual Dialects and their MakeUp: British, Cockney and Australian
Week 6: Individual Dialects and their MakeUp: Irish and Scottish
Week 7: Individual Dialects and their MakeUp: German and Yiddish
Week 8: Individual Dialects and their MakeUp: French and Italian
8-week classes begin the first Friday of each month - or take it as a One-on-One and begin immediately upon registration.
Take as a One-on-One course:
1) begin any time,
2) work one-on-one with your instructor, and
3) take up to 12 weeks to complete.
Fee: $ 240.00 $300.00 for One-on-One
Student Comments: "I argued with you about this when I took
your seminar; when you critiqued my manuscript, when I first began attending your class.
But you (and my fellow students) have finally convinced me that phonetically reproducing
dialect speech only turns a character into a stereotype - great for comedy, but not good
if you want the character to be taken seriously. Thanks for your persistence in
helping me understand this, Patrika." "I found the course very informative and well organized. The lessons were
clear. The instructor is obviously very experienced. " Dave Woodruff Thought for the day: Don't byte off
more than you can view.