Novel Revision Series: Dialogue and the Scene - Remote!

The scene is an essential building block of contemporary fiction. But what really constitutes a scene, and what makes for a great one? In this class we’ll look at a variety of classic and contemporary scenes, break them apart and put them back together again to understand their underlying machinery and what it is, exactly, that brings them to life. We'll pay special attention to dialogue, the most direct window into the soul of your characters. Does your dialogue allow the reader direct access to your characters, and is it working in concert with other scene elements to create naturalistic, rounded, living fiction? By considering these questions, you’ll gain concrete tools to help you evaluate and refine your scenes and dialogue as you revise your novel in progress.

The week prior to class, the instructor will contact you to assign one or two readings, to be completed before the class begins. We'll also be doing several writing and/or revision exercises that will allow you to apply what you observe to your own work. Bring along several scenes from your own novel, with a preference for scenes you feel could use some improvement and/or revision.

Part of GrubStreet's Novel Revision Series, led by Tim Weed and designed for those who have either finished or are nearing completion of a novel draft. Take every class in the series or simply choose the craft topics that are relevant to the revision challenges you face with your novel in progress. Classes include:

• Novel Revision Series: Dialogue and the Scene
• Novel Revision Series: Minor and Supporting Characters
• Novel Revision Series: Killer Openings & Symphonic Endings
• Novel Revision Series: Fictional Love Stories
• Novel Revision Series: Point of View and Voice
• Novel Revision Series: Descriptive Writing and Image Systems
• Novel Revision Series: Interiority, Backstory, and Flashback