The Secrets of Storytelling

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BBC Radio 4 LW

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

A contemporary author takes a classic text to shine light on the craft of writing fiction.

A contemporary author takes part of a classic text to shine a light on the craft of writing fiction.

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The Secrets of Storytelling: The Art of Conversation

The Art of Conversation

BBC Radio 4 - The Secrets of Storytelling, The Art of Conversation

James Runcie and Anne Enright consider how to write dialogue that rings true.

James Runcie and Booker Prize-winning novelist Anne Enright discuss the role of dialogue in storytelling, and why silence, subtext and inarticulacy are just as important as speech.

James Runcie, author of the Grantchester Mysteries series, is a writer in search of the best way to tell a story. In this series he meets high profile authors to discuss the craft of novel writing. Using extracts from the author’s own work, as well as classic texts, the conversations will reveal the secrets of the storytelling craft.

In this episode James is joined by Booker Prize-winning novelist Anne Enright to discuss the role dialogue plays in storytelling. Through analysis of scenes from Pride and Prejudice and Anna Karenina, as well as Anne's own novels Actress and The Forgotten Waltz, they consider how silence, subtext and inarticulacy can play just as important a role as speech.

Presenter: James Runcie
Producer: Ellie Bury
Reader: Harriet Walter

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