You can blame TikTok, Twitter or technology but the truth is, Gen Z aren't the only ones with short attention spans. In this class participants will learn how eavesdropping (ear hustling) can lead to writing better dialogue that catches the reader's attention. This 2-hour, all-level, multi-genre craft talk on how to write short snappy dialogue is interactive and will be a compilation of lecture, reading, writing exercises, collaboration and group discussions.
Instructor: Silk Allen is a Cleveland based storyteller and personal stylist whose creative vision is shaped by a chaotic mess of influences- fashion, pop culture, and history- while echoing the poetic prose of Iceberg Slim and the unapologetic lyricism of Lil Kim. Her writing has appeared in local publications BFly Magazine, The Plain Dealer, The Plain Press, Destination Cleveland and The Land, often writing about the local fashion, shopping and entertainment scene. She was awarded the Twelve Literary Arts Baldwin House Urban Writing Residency in 2021 and participated in Literary Cleveland’s inaugural Breakthrough Writing Residency cohort for 2022-2023. Silk is currently working on a hip hop based collection of essays titled “I Write How I Talk Vol. 1” about her coming of age experiences in the late 90s and early 2000s