Writing Dialogue with Kim McDougall

Before we started this fantastic and educational writing dialogue workshop, the WCYR held the Annual General Meeting. Starting this September, at the beginning of our next season, there will be a new WCYR Board. Some board members are continuing on, joined by new members, all looking forward to growth in the WCYR. The current board thanks Elaine Jackson, the previous WCYR President and Board Advisor. Previous Board Chair, MJ Moores, looks forward to being the Board Advisor to the new Co-Chairs, Gary Mcgugan and Mit Gopaul.

During our brief AGM, the winners of the WCYR grants were announced. This year, the WCYR was able to award four grants, two in each category of publication and education. The winners of the 2020 WCYR grants are Kaya Denis, Loni Cameron, Craig Hodgins, and Kim McDougall. We look forward to hearing how they use their grants to further their writing journey.

“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out” – Alfred Hitchcock

Good dialogue has all the dull bits cut out. A writer wants dialogue to be realistic, but not too realistic. Dialogue should be important and interesting. Kim took us through making good dialogue to making great dialogue. We were also shown the difference between “dialogue tags” and “action tags,” and how they should be used. There are many different ways dialogue can be used in the story, to create emotion, to forward the plot, and to provide information – though avoid the info dump. A quick lesson in dialogue grammar was also provided, as well as useful information about “accent tags.”

Writing Dialogue was full of information about how much of the story is in the way characters speak. The writing of dialogue is vital to any story. Look at your favourite authors. How do they use dialogue? Do you notice their “dialogue tags?” Do they use “action tags?” Kim took us on a journey through dialogue and all the ways it can be used to make a story better.

Upcoming Events:

Sizzling Synopses with MJ Moores – August 13, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Writing Books With Page-Turning Tension with Molly O’Keefe – September 13, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Subject Lines Save Bottom Lines with Holly Mortimer – October 18, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Querying, Twitter Pitches, and Contests with Farah Heron – November 8, 1:00pm – 4:00pm