This is the prompt from Vernonia Library Writers Group prompt for July 16: Writing Dialog.

The introduction to the prompt began with reading aloud 10 lines of dialog that had no other information as to who was talking or how it was said, just dialog. It could have been a scene in a play or just a casual conversation. After reading the dialog, the group discussed if they could distinguish the characters by the lines they spoke. Male, female, young, old, local or from somewhere else, and if this was a current exchange, from days gone by, or from the future; the dialog created characters.

The class was given 15 minutes to write their own dialog. The class dissected each members dialog to reveal who the characters were by their dialog. Some were very precise to what the writer had in mind. One person had three people in their dialog. This led to a good discussion about ways to make the distinct characters have their own presence, their unique personality.