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In this workshop with writer Jacob Plante, we will learn the importance of dialogue and how to skillfully craft dialogue into your narrative. Are you afraid to have your characters speak because you’re not sure what they should say? How should they sound? Are you afraid all your characters will sound the same? Are you unsure about the elements of narrative dialogue versus dialogue in real life? Do you wonder why you should have dialogue and how to write it? Do you have trouble with subtext? Reading a novel without any dialogue in it is like reading through the dictionary from cover to cover, but not as exciting. People speak to each other. We relate to each other, learn about one another and communicate through dialogue. When writing scenes, dialogue and how it is written is crucial. It’s how characters reveal themselves and their characteristics. It’s how narratives are moved forward. It’s how you place the reader in the here and now of a scene instead of overusing summary. In this virtual workshop we will work on how to make your characters speak in their own voices. We'll discuss: - How much dialogue is enough. - How much dialogue is too much. - What to have your characters talk about and what to have your characters not talk about. - When and when not to summarize a conversation or parts of a conversation. One of the main focuses of this workshop will be writing prompts to get beginners comfortable with dialogue and for the intermediate and advanced writers to hone their skills in crafting genuine dialogue. If you're working on a novel for National Novel Writing Month, this is the perfect opportunity to set your novel up for strong dialogue! 
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It's been a long time coming. I haven't been very active in my blog. And I will tell you why. I've been hustling. I've been busy busy busy. I finally finished and graduated with my MFA! That kept me quite busy; especially the last two semesters. I think the most challenging class for me in that program was Researching and Writing About Literature. All the classes were challenging, but in a good way. If there is no challenge, there is no point. I will try to blog more. What else have I been busy with. Trying to get published after grad school. It's like sales to me, it's a numbers game. A million cold call attempts and tons of rejection. But I've just got to smile and dial so they say in the telemarketing world. I just got to keep submitting with no quitting. I have a collection of short stories that I'm rather proud of, they're entitled Flipside. I'm working on a memoir and a novel. I've secured myself two book signing author talk events, one in my hometown Midland Michigan, and another in Royal Oak Michigan. The one in Midland will happen at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library, and the one in Royal Oak will take place at the Royal Oak Public Library. I've been as of recent, drawn into getting more involved with theatre again. But the more involved I am in theatre the more other areas of my life suffer. I was cast in plays this past summer that I had to drop out of due to reasons of mental health, and I recently dropped out of assistant directing a play. Not so much mental health but the gas money and the time consumed that comes with no monetary benefit. I've realized that if I am to become a better writer I need to spend my time writing. Not being nostalgically involved with my former self the professional theatre artist. It's time for a new chapter a new Jacob. Not so much the actor, but the author. I've decided to start reading more than usual. In my MFA program we had to in addition to class work read a list of 40-50 books of our choosing. Which was great for us. My Uncle Jim, who's also a writer told me when I first got into this was that one thing writers do when they aren't writing, is that they read. I have a tendency to read too many books on craft and not enough narrative in the form of novels and novellas. So I'm going to change that and try to read an equal amount of narrative as I do craft. To Oak Park and Beyond...  Jacob Plante MFA I hope this blog post finds you well. This is the first of many blog posts to come. In the moment that I am writing this I am tired. I go through most of my life tired, and I don't know how I manage to get any work done. I'm working on short stories, working on a novel, writing poetry, and preparing to apply to an online screenwriting program offered by UCLA. I once watched UCLA play U of M in football. I was in 9th grade and the Big House, as they call Michigan's football stadium in Ann Arbor was fully packed. I have a certain pride about living in Michigan, and even more so I take pride in living in the lovely Detroit Suburb of Oak Park.
As I yawn I try to remember what I wanted to write about. Now I remember, I am looking forward to screenwriting and have ideas developed already for my first two feature length screenplays. I won't give them away but they are entitled Isaac & Nora and The gods of Abe. Hopefully coming to a theatre near you in a few years. I was recently selected to be part of a film selection committee for a local film festival here in Detroit, and I'm rather excited about it. I'm also excited about only having two semesters left in my MFA Creative Writing program; after this summer session I will only have Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 remaining. I also am kind of itching to start crafting my first draft of my next short stories. I'm putting together a collection of my short stories and entitling the collection: Flipside: Short Stories. Back in 2007 I used to operate a theatre company called Flipside Theatre Company. I produced one show of improv and then we folded and closed our doors forever. The theatre was a huge failure, but it also gave me a great learning experience. One of my favorite quotes is, "The journey of ten thousand miles begins with one footstep." - Don't know who said this. |
Jacob Plante
MFA - Creative Writing Archives
October 2022
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