When telling a story, we usually use a variety of modes such as action, description, inner thought and dialogue.
Your challenge is to tell us a story using only, or primarily, dialogue. This could be a conversation between people or objects, texting or email, or an overheard conversation.
We are open to poetry forms and different ways to interpret this idea and these prompts.
prompt 4: focus on dialogue
Focusing on dialogue is a great way to tell a story. We can find out a LOT about characters and how they relate to each other through what they say.
For this piece of writing stick with two characters for the most part.
Through what they say, quickly establish things like their approximate ages and their relationship by dropping in clues.
for example:
"Hey, Mum, can I go to the fireworks?"
"You know my answer, Kiri. It doesn't finish until 10 and it's a school night."
"Dad said 'maybe'."
Give each of your characters a goal or agenda.
How will they talk around this without ending up in a boring argument?
Make the voices sound different in their tone and word choices.
Tell a story and remember to make something change by the end of the conversation.
You may want to add in a few actions or dialogue tags but for the most part focus on the dialogue. :)
Read the dialogue you write out loud. Maybe test it out on a listener.
It should work like a radio play. Think about how you can help the listener understand what is going on without over-explaining.
Polish up your Dialogue Story and submit it to the Write On: In Conversation Competition. Please read all of the terms and conditions here
We will have more prompts up soon!
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DEADLINE: FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 27 2024
(c) Write On 2024
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