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Meet THe Team
Readers can be pretty forgiving when it comes to narration. But dialogue? Not so much!
Dialogue is a notoriously tricky aspect of fiction writing. What separates good dialogue from bad? What material should go into dialogue and what should be left to your narrator? Perhaps most importantly, how do you get your characters to sound like real human beings?
In this class we’ll examine short stories by three masters of dialogue: Anton Chekhov, Ernest Hemingway, and Amy Hempel. From each story we’ll tease out practical craft lessons on topics like subtext and silence; dialogue as a revealer of conflict; the importance of miscommunication; and the dramatic possibilities of characters yearning to say what can’t — or shouldn’t — be said.You’ll also be presented with several in-class exercises designed to help you implement these concepts in your own writing projects.
• In-Class Writing Lift: Medium
• Homework: None
• Workshopping Drafts: None
Andrew Steiner was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 2022 he received an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. In his mid-20s he left a career in nonprofit development to work on a small vegetable farm, providing the setting for his first novel, Let This Remain, represented by The Wylie Agency. His short fiction has been published in Narrative, Epoch, Grain, and other outlets. He currently teaches creative writing and rhetoric at Grand Valley State University and Calvin University.
"Andrew was incredible! I learned a ton and I am very motivated to start my novel! He is clear and knowledgeable and such a great teacher. He takes enough time for explanation on a point but asks our feedback and really listens. We learned a lot. Thank you for a perfect first class!"
"Andrew's class was inspiring and informative. When I left, I felt like writing!"
"Andrew was great! Personable and engaging, he kept a solid tempo for the time we had and allowed for a lot of captivating discussion."
