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Keep in mind, Stephen King's method works for Stephen King. It might not for you. I'm very confident there are well known authors that work differently than Stephan King.

looks like I'm last to post

I have given this lesson a lot of thought.

One of my key flaws as a writer has been punctuation (and spelling but thanks to spell-check its not as big an issue as it could be), but the rules applying to dialogue make far more sense than punctuating prose. Commas are my downfall, ask anyone who reviews my work. So punctuation was easier than I thought. It’s hard and fast rules- whereas the rest of my wish list is more subjective.

One of the many key things I need to work on would be: when to use on-the-nose and when not to. I think there is a need for it (on the nose that is)- my current novel is already  205,000 so beating around the bush in every scene can get tedious, esp. when dialogue is a natural fit for backstory. I also have characters that just speak their mind- so on the nose would be good fit in some instances. What I need to do is finesse it. Look for those moments when subtext fits better and use it when applicable. I've also noticed that subtext could be used to misdirect the reader- and that sounds like fun to me! Another point for improvement is to avoid editorializing by my characters.

For me the most eye-opening moment was when you took the dialogue from the last lesson and broke it down - (esp. when you used neener-neener!) No reviewer has ever done that for me and it instantly demonstrated the point. Going forward I’m going to do that to my own dialogue and see if distilled, it goes where I want it to go and packs the same punch. I may also employ that method when reviewing others work on this site (get ready Wyatt and Randy), it was  that enlightening. Also going to read it out loud- I hear that helps.

The class was very useful and I’ve printed out the toolbox from both Lesson 4 and Lesson 5 and they’re pinned to my builtin board. I normally write “stream of conscious” style (sometimes 1-2 glasses of wine are involved) but now  I’m going to be more critical during the editing phase and keep these lessons in mind. Also going to cut many tags- that should help get that word count down!

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the class and thank you for providing it.  I’m in the middle of my third re-write of my first novel, and applying these tools will fix those problems I’ve noticed but wasn’t sure what to do about. That "there's something wrong with that, but I can't put my finger on it" moments. Now I know what to do thanks to this course.

I’ll invest in some more books (I see Randy has a  nice list going, as well as your suggestion) and I’m a current member of the Atlanta Writer’s Club, but have been lax in going to the meetings. They have really great workshops as well, perhaps I'll sign up for one or two.

Thank you again for the course and your guidance,

CJ

I've posted lesson 5- Old version goes first, followed by the revised version. I've also added some character info at the end- I'd like to know if after reading, does the dialogue sound plausible between these characters. And is there any thing I can do to strengthen it?

http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/posting … sion-22032

Completed Randy's revised chapter 1.

Hey LA,
revised and reposted:
http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/posting … sion-21994

Boy that was liberating- using your lessons I think the updated version is 100% better! Thanks for the class!
I'm excited to do the rewriting now.

CJ

Hi Ann,
I've been AWOL from the message boards, myself and didn't see your post. Sorry about the issues. That is scary stuff.
As for reviewing you- I'm not skipping you. Once I get back on track, it will be business as usual- I don't care if you fall behind reviewing me!

Good luck with the master's classes, hope you ace them (know you will if it pertains to writing).

take care,
CJ

I should say the exercises- working on the examples now.

Hi all,
Didn't see this or know how to do the links. Hope this works
Homework
http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/posting … w-l2-21907

Sample exercise.
http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/posting … mple-21908

So the writing sample is in addition to the homework. Do you want us to do the same sort of thing, using our own examples, then break them down by character driven or plot driven dialogue- tagging them as such?
Or just write them and let others tag them?

Hi LA,
I'm a Graphic Designer by trade, but have been writing since college and looking forward to self-publishing my first novel (once it is as close to perfect as it can be."
My struggles... It seems things have changed since I've been in school- I hear  now we need to just use "said" as tags and I find that boring. I write stream of consciousness and try to hear my characters in my head in order to decide how and what they should say. I'm looking forward to working with a professional. The story lines I've been posting here I've been working on for...years. Many years. I'm up to a 4 part series- but nothing ready to go to print yet.
I think what I'm looking forward to learning is:
1. Keeping the dialogue natural, while still furthering the plot.
2. Finding ways of characterizing the speech itself.
3. PUNCTUATION, PUNCTUATION, PUNCTUATION.
4. And effective dialogue- how to get a character to speak volumes, while saying very little.
Thanks for the class- hope we get more members, though!

Finished Jube's  "The World Of Phyries" Chapter 2.