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Will look for it, thanks!

I’m intentionally late to this party…

First, thank you all for such thorough and thoughtful evaluations. I am as pleased as I am humbled. 

When I first discussed hosting a dialogue course with Sol, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make the shift from a face-to-face class, to an online one. Since most of my lessons contained exercises and worksheets that required physical presence, I wasn’t sure how well they’d translate. I think most of them worked out pretty well. The only one I found difficult to impart without the face-to-face interaction was the last one. But then again, you are all so studious, I have no doubt that you will all find a way to make that Sense Memory lesson your own.

Now, because I am as much a student as I am a teacher, I’d like to know what areas of the course you think I could improve upon. Or, if there are ways in which you think the course could be tweaked, detailed, or made more interactive, please let me know. 

Also, if you wouldn’t mind taking a moment to let Sol know you’ve completed the course, and what you thought of it, I would appreciate it. You can send him an email, or drop a quickie—whatever works best for you. Since he’s keenly interested in bringing quality educational offerings to the table, your honest comments about this one will be of great value to him.

Thank you for your time, patience, and dedication. I look forward to witnessing your progress and continuing to interact with all of you as a fellow writer.

All the best,
LA

Evaluation for Randy

You have come a very long way since the start of this class. I’m seeing improvement in many areas including, voice, loosening up formality, and adding a few tricks from the writers toolbox. Congratulations on dedicating yourself, so earnestly, to the lessons!

The main area you need to continue dedicating yourself to is not treating dialogue as a Randy vessel. In order for a reader to believe that your characters are real people, they need to sound like people, not vessels. I have another mantra for you: Dialogue is the place where my characters live & breathe. Anytime you are tempted to approach a piece of spoken word as a tool because of your needs—STOP—repeat the mantra, and try again.

Keep asking yourself: Do you want the reader focusing on me and my expertise?  Or do you want them focusing on your characters and their story?  This is a vital distinction for you to learn, know and always respect. 

You do have the added difficulty of unlearning habits that are detrimental to creating believable fiction. I actually had a long conversation about this with my husband the other day. We came to the conclusion that there is no magic pill, or pearls of wisdom that I can pass along to create the “Ah hah!” epiphany you need. The only thing that will help you is to keep practicing. The more time you dedicate to learning and repeating good habits, the sooner those habits will overtake the old. 

I also suggest you do a ton more research on this subject. There’s a plethora of information to be found on the internet. Google; expository dialogue and character voice. You’ll find clear explanations, exercises and tricks you can learn that will help you. I’d also suggest you read up on techniques used by the dialogue master, Elmore Leonard.

I’ve enjoyed getting to know you Randy and I can’t wait to watch you develop even further!!

LA

That is where I found your two disabled pieces earlier. I didn't see anything else, but perhaps it was a site glitch. I'll check again.

Good morning John.

Thanks for the note. I went hunting for your stuff but all I've come across thus far is deleted content--which unfortunately I cannot access or address.

As far as lesson 3 is concerned, we are discussing dialogue tags. Those are speech tags (he said, she said) and action tags (he coughed, she laughed). The term, 'character tag' is a misnomer. It is not a tag. At least not as far as dialogue and this class is concerned. It is a term used for description that lends to characterization, and as such, has no bearing on this class. I mention this because I don't want you confusing the terms, or yourself.

As far your how-to information, you are correct in assuming that too many tags, of any kind, can be disruptive to the reading experience. Most significantly, overuse can overshadow the spoken word--which should be the star of the show. It can also negatively impact pacing. A happy medium is reached when you can read your passage aloud and; 1. not get confused about who is speaking at a given time, and 2. not verbally stumble.

In moving forward, I would appreciate if you would do the following: First, upload the lesson and reading sample related to the lesson and leave them active. Second, copy and paste links to the uploads in the corresponding forum so I don't have to go on a treasure hunt to find your work.

John, since only the people registered for this class can read the content, there isn't any reason to keep deleting. Plus, I cannot read, or comment on any of it if you do that. From now on, please leave those posts active. It helps to refer back to them for comparison.

Wyatt, you're fine...it takes a lot for someone to wear thin and you aren't anywhere near that bar. Whether you know it or not, each time you work on an issue, you learn from it. It might take time for those lessons to sink in, but they will eventually. Have faith and keep plugging--even when I'm not around to prod you anymore

You're right, it will take a while, but you are certainly on the right path to change it. Kudos.  And I can relate, I live with a technical writer who thinks I need to hear about PSI concerns when leaving me a note to about turning off the sprinklers when I get home.

Okay John, let's get started. Please post your writing sample and link it in here. Then proceed with the lessons. Always be sure to link your homework and writing samples in the appropriate forum so I can find them easily. Thanks!

Great! Welcome aboard!  Please take a moment to post a dialogue driven writing sample as outlined in the course description. Then please let me know a little about you, and what you hope to get from the course. Lastly, please remember to post a link in the appropriate lesson thread anytime you upload lesson homework I need to address. Looking forward to working with you John!

And speaking of doing it, anyone have any questions about lesson 5 so far?  It's a tough one, but so worth the time.