February Grotto Class Bulletin
16 views
Skip to first unread message
Lindsey Crittenden
Feb 17, 2016, 3:17:25 PM2/17/16
to grotto-cl...@googlegroups.com
Class BulletinWelcome to our monthly e-newsletter including tips about writing, what we're reading now, and the latest news about our classes.
**UPDATE COMING SOON! Watch for our improved newsletter with more information and highlights from the entire Grotto community, including the latest on classes.
Winter classes still in session! Classes fill up fast, so check out our offerings, from podcasting & radio and personal essay, to social media and techniques to free up your fiction - and more. To learn more and register, scroll down to Note Three or go to http://www.sfgrotto.org/classes/upcoming-classes.
Note One: Writing Tips from Our Teachers
From Laurie Ann Doyle (Said and Unsaid: The Intersection of Character and Dialogue in Fiction and Memoir, Sun., March 13):
Dialogue in fiction and memoir sounds like authentic speech, but it’s not. Strong dialogue is actually distilled—not transcribed—speech. Many authors free-write the full conversation between characters, then go back and edit out filler words like Yeah, Um, Okay, as well as chitchat that doesn’t ramp up tension or reveal who these people really are. Also consider what your characters don’t say and how they don’t say it. This is an important and often ignored element of dialogue. Let the reader hear pauses in the conversation. Silence does not have to be simply white space. How characters sit or stand can be as significant as their spoken words. Have the character lean forward, fidget, bite his cuticles, avert her eyes. An imaginative combination of conversation, gesture, and body language makes for strong dialogue in fiction and memoir.
Note Two: What We’re Reading Now
From Meghan Ward (Twitter in Two Hours, Wed., March 9, and Facebook in Two Hours, Wed., March 16)
One of the great things about blogging and social media is the connections you make with other people. I was at a BlogHer conference several years ago, and Sheryl Sandberg gave a keynote address. She asked us to write down what were we most afraid of doing. I wrote, “Write about race.” “Now do it,” Sanberg said. So I threw the idea out there on my blog and was encouraged by the response. As a result, I’m doing a lot of reading about race. Most recently I read T. Geronimo Johnson’s Welcome to Braggsville and Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me. Now I’m reading Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria: And Other Conversations about Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum. All perfect for Black History month, and all thanks to my blog readers!
Note Three: Upcoming Classes
Classes are listed in chronological order, by date of first session, up through mid-March 2016. For full descriptions and to enroll, click on each class or go to http://www.sfgrotto.org/classes/upcoming-classes for the complete catalog.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages