Happy Fall!
One of my favorite things about living in SD is the change of seasons. Another one of my favorite things is the SD Festival of the Book, which I attended this last weekend. The Festival shifts each year between 2 locations: Brookings, on the east side of the state, and my hometown, where it was this year, and in Deadwood, in the Black Hills, on the west side of the state, where it will be next year.
Unlike other conferences I’ve attended that are very genre-specific, the SD Festival appeals to a wide audience. There are several tracks for both readers and writers: Children’s/YA, Fiction, History/Tribal Writing, Non-fiction, Poetry, and Writers’ Support.
I focused on the Writers’ Support Sessions. The first session I attended was a workshop entitled “Say What? Dialogue, Tag Lines & Narrative Voice.” It was very informative and helpful. The presenter, Patrick Hicks, is a professor and author. His new novel is The Commandant of Lubizec. Upon the request of one of the other attendees, Patrick read the first paragraph from his novel. My first stop after class was to buy it, just based on his reading. Gripping, to say the least.
Patrick covered several important points within the topics of dialogue and voice. We discussed narrative versus character voice, along with narrative distance. Hicks gave examples of how to use narrative distance depending on what you want to communicate about the character. New to me was the concept of Heteroglossia, which, according to my understanding, is the idea that each character has her own belief system and it’s the writer’s job to be aware of it. The writer needs to understand what each character wants and needs from life and convey this truth to the writer. Food for thought (and revision).
Hicks also reminded the workshop group to check on whether the dialogue they’re writing is, in fact, necessary. How do you know? Dialogue is necessary if it (1) illuminates the character or (2) propels the story in some way. If the dialogue you’re writing doesn’t satisfy one or other of these requirements, paraphrase it. Noted and highlighted.
His presentation on internal dialogue was also quite helpful. He suggested using internal dialogue when you want to make the reader feel close to that particular character, and in the alternative, limit the internal dialogue if you don’t want the reader to feel a close connection to a character. This was immensely helpful in my current revision. I have a character who may have not have any internal dialogue, given my goals for the reader’s feelings about that character.
Attending conferences and festivals is an invaluable way to grow and expand your writing. Put the SD Festival of the Book on your To-Do List. Happy Fall!
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