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This is a noncredit, online writing class through UW-Madison Continuing Studies.

The dialogue shop: an online workshop with Christine DeSmet

Tools for crafting what your characters--and you--want to say

Shop the "aisles" of this workshop for professional tools to power up your dialogue. Topics include: 6 dialogue functions; 12 techniques to cure flat dialogue; monologues; creating memorable lines; "framing" and "echoing"; 6 ways to create subtext; private language, dialect, and more; dialogue and character tags; punctuation power. Both levels give you Christine DeSmet's personal feedback on fun writing exercises; in the bonus Level II, you also polish several pro techniques with Christine.

When you visit The Dialogue Shop you'll soon discover that dialogue is a rich subject. Many tools and techniques line the shelves, all there to help you solve problems in your scenes and create more magic in your writing. In this workshop, I’ve gathered some "must know" things about dialogue into a few "aisles of the store" to make your shopping more convenient. Take a look at all you'll learn below. The aisles are chock full of stuff, mind you, but I believe you’ll find the shopping excursion fun. Everything's presented in short bits that are to-the-point, with examples along the way.

I've set up the aisles so that they take you step by step through concepts that build on each other or inter-relate somehow. Dialogue should enhance character and plot; dialogue should perform a job, as well as just plain delight us at times. "How" to do all that is what you'll discover as you walk through the aisles of The Dialogue Shop.

Introduction

You don't need a "knack" for dialogue to improve.

• Dialogue techniques transfer across forms and genres
• "Recognition" lines—what's yours?
• What makes an actor want to attach to your screenplay?
• What makes an editor pluck you from the slush pile?
• Other questions answered in the workshop
• Resource books I recommend
• The basic principles of effective dialogue revealed

Aisle #1 of The Dialogue Shop: Measuring Tools

What are 6 attributes of dialogue that the gatekeepers tend to look for?

• What are 6 basic functions of dialogue?
• What are 6 common techniques writers use and how to use them?
• The famous "Rule of 3"
• Review questions
• Level I and Level II exercises

Aisle #2 of The Dialogue Shop: Fasteners, Staplers, Chisels

Connecting characterization and plotting to dialogue.

• What do we need to know about character to write dialogue?
• How do you sculpt over-written dialogue?
• What do we need to know about our plot and scenes in order to write effective dialogue?
• What techniques will power up dialogue automatically?
• A key question often forgotten for shaping dialogue
• Use of objects
• Review questions
• Level I and Level II exercises

Aisle #3 of The Dialogue Shop: Big Power Tools

What makes a good monologue?

• When do you use a monologue?
• Why are confessions powerful?
• Using objects to power up dialogue
• Easy ways to make dialogue push the suspense and tension
• How do "framing" and "echoing" work?
• How to put backstory into dialogue without bogging down
• Review questions
• Level I and Level II exercises

Aisle #4 of The Dialogue Shop: Paint Brushes and Hammers

Simplicity and the soft touch are often better.

• 3 basic functions of dialogue we mustn't forget
• 10 techniques in review plus 2 new ones
• 6 ways to prepare the surface for subtext
• Private language of professions and more
• Handling dialects
• The big hammers of slang, curse words and jokes
• How to use dialogue tags
• How to use character tags
• Punctuation tips to keep the writer out of trouble
• Review questions
• Level I and Level II exercises
• Postscript on how to stay in touch

How it works

You can start our workshops anytime, and there are no required hours to log on. It's all done with one-on-one correspondence with the instructor using email. You can read and print course materials in the course Web site, which you can access at your leisure with a password that we will give you. We have writers from around the world participating in our workshops, and we have success stories. A lot of great writing gets accomplished via email. Because of the one-on-one nature of our workshops, you'll find them an excellent "coaching" or mentoring situation that will keep you going. And if you want to just work on your own-hey, that's fine too. Of course you can do the suggested exercises on your own without the feedback if you'd rather do that. We're also here throughout the year if you have questions.
 
Review the current technical requirements for students in Learn@UW online courses.

Student Comments

“I wanted to thank you for presenting such an informative, interesting class. I learned a host of new techniques, and I plan to use them in future pieces as well as in revising older stories I have written. I would like to take another online writing workshop from the University of Wisconsin.”

--Andrea Zollman, Los Angeles, California, writer who took the course, “The Dialogue Shop,” with Christine DeSmet. Andrea also enjoyed “How to Write Compelling Fiction.”

Your instructor

Christine DeSmet is a screenwriter, novelist, and writing teacher and critique coach. She also writes plays and short stories. Her true-story film script “Chinaware-Fragile” was the winner of a past Slamdance Film Festival contest and optioned to New Line Cinema. With co-writer Peggy Williams, Christine has optioned other screenplays and placed high in national contests.

She's a fellowship graduate of the Warner Bros. Sitcom Writers Workshop, a past officer of Wisconsin Screenwriters Forum, member of Romance Writers of America and Writers Guild of America, East. Her romantic suspense novel, Spirit Lake, is an award-winning novel for publisher Hard Shell Word Factory. Her short stories are in anthologies published by Whiskey Creek Press, including a new Christmas anthology due out in 2011. She has a master's degree in journalism from UW-Madison and grew up on a farm near Barneveld, WI.

Costs

Both levels include your instructor's feedback on your writing exercises. At the basic level, $115, you'll complete one exercise in each unit and send it in for feedback, earning 2.0 CEUs. At the advanced level, $165, you'll practice many more professional-level techniques that feature scene work based on your own writing or the suggested scenarios in the workshop. You earn 3.0 CEUs at the advanced, pro level. Register at any time.

How to register

Online: Register now online with our secure server.

Mail: Print and mail our registration form.

Telephone: Call 608-262-2451 or toll-free 800-725-9692 to register. Our phone is answered M-F, 7:00 am-4:30 pm Central Time. At other times please leave a message, and we will return your call.

Contact

Your contact for more information about The Dialogue Shop is Christine DeSmet, 608-262-3447, cdesmet@dcs.wisc.edu.

For more information about online learning contact Lori O'Neill at 608-263-6322 or toll-free 877-336-7836 or email LSAonline@dcs.wisc.edu.

 

Also of interest

Explore other online writing classes.

The same writing staff that bring you these great online classes also provide individualized writing critique services. Learn more by visiting our writing critique services web page.

 

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