If you test positive for Covid – Don’t come to class until you test negative. But let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.
If you show Covid symptoms OR If you have been exposed to someone with Covid – Don’t come to class for at least 5 days after showing symptoms or exposure, and then take a test to confirm that you are negative. Let your teacher know and we’ll work to give you access to your missed classes via Zoom.
If you have any questions about this, you may call (212-974-8377) or email us ([email protected]).
Dialogue
Dialogue is an Intensive, meaning it happens in a short time span (1 day in NYC, or 2 days on Zoom, or 3 weeks Online). The course includes a mixture of lectures and exercises. It’s open to writers of any level. Farther down, you can view a syllabus for this course.
As Rhett tells Scarlett in the movie Gone With the Wind, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” (In the book version, there’s no “frankly.”) Either way it’s a good line, and you should give a damn about your dialogue. Dialogue is crucial to any kind of story. Bad dialogue can sink it like a hole in the hull, while good dialogue makes a story sail along beautifully.
Writing great dialogue is tricky. Here you’ll learn to write dialogue that sounds lifelike, but is carefully constructed so every line resonates with characterization and meaning.
Whether you’re working on fiction, nonfiction or a script, we’ll show you how make your dialogue pack a punch.
Precise lectures, focused feedback, and first-rate instruction combine to bring masterful dialogue well within reach of the aspiring writer.
John Trape
simulation training developer
Notes
This is a cross-genre course, applicable to any kind of writing that contains dialogue, including nonfiction.
Price
Registration fee $25, paid once per term
3-Week
-
Online
Anytime, week-long sessions
Tuition: $175
-
One-on-One
Tuition: $395
Syllabus
This course gives an overview of how to write excellent dialogue, in any genre. Course components:
Lectures
Writing exercises
New York City/Zoom classes
The syllabus varies from teacher to teacher, term to term. Many topics will be similar to those covered in the Online classes.
Online classes
Week 1
Art and Artifice: Purpose of dialogue. A sense of reality. The illusion of reality. Stage directions. Particulars for handling prose and scripts.
Week 2
How and Why They Talk: Characterization. Character and situation. Desire and conflict. Tactics.
Week 3
Subtext and Such: Subtext. Exposition. Stylized dialogue. Dialect. Speeches.
Note: Content may vary among individual classes.
Related Courses
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Explore the art of conceiving and shaping characters—for fiction, nonfiction, and scripts.
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Plot 2: Machinations
Explore the advanced twists and turns of crafting a plot— for fiction, nonfiction, and scripts.
The Writer’s Mind
Explore the hidden depths of your mind, in your writing process.