Writer Conference continued

As promised here is more from the Writers conference I attended. 

Pam Houston said "Don't waste the reader's time." Compress your piece as tight as possible. 

Her advice on dialogue (and note this is her own experience and advice) 
* Use dialogue to show character.
* Use Dialogue to create tension.

She said that your agenda should be to engage the reader by keeping dialogue on the verge of understanding. Every relationship has its own dialogue rules. Couples speak differently to each other than they do to family or close friends. 

This distinction should be made in your writing. For example people who have been married for five years will have baggage in their dialogue- hence fighting over toilet paper, when really they are fighting over some underlying meaning- something different than what they say. This is the kind of tension dialogue should strive for. 

Another writing exercise she gave was to create a story that is compromised of a list in some way.

I will be reading one of her books and writing a review on this blog for it in a couple of weeks- be on the watch for it.

Happy writing!