December

INVESTIGATION

This month, we’ll think about writing dialog in nonfiction. Because this month is usually so hectic for folks, this months' exploration, activity, and investigation are shorter, more simple.

Most CNF writers seem to be a little bit afraid of dialog, afraid to get it wrong, afraid to misrepresent.

This month, I suggest you try to allow that fear to take a little rest.

EXPLORATION

This article from Creative Nonfiction is awesome.

There are two main ways to write dialog: to write it in quotes or to summarize it.

Summarizing dialog can keep the scene moving forward through time by using lists - Mom asked me about the temperature, the spices, how to set the timer, and basically every question she could come up with about roasting the chicken.

Or by interjecting the narrator's opinion/personality hints in the summary - Mom asked me every question on the planet about how to make the chicken while she washed her hands, over and over.

Summarizing can also help give context to the situation - Mom said so many things about the chicken that I stopped listening. She told me that she'd been in therapy for her OCD for months, but it didn't seem to be working.

Quoting directly is reserved for unexpected answers, linguistic tics, slowing things down (i.e. "Yeah" or "Ok" should be used purposefully, to adjust pacing).

ACTIVITY

When you're with your loved ones this month, take notice of the way people actually talk. There are so many mazes ("like" "um" "uh" etc). Notice how many time you and other people say "yeah" or "hmm" or "k."

Pick a scene from your actual life this month that is low stakes, maybe a conversation about what to have for dinner. Write it out exactly as you remember it. Then, read it out loud. Think about where you can summarize (i.e., Mom asked me question after question about how to spice the chicken) and where to write the actual words in quotes (i.e., When Mom asked me how she could help, I told her to spice the chicken. She said, "Fuck that.").

Now, do the same thing with a high intensity scene from your essay or book. How does adding dialog change the pacing, the tension, and/or the information delivered.