Snowball Dialogue is a technique invented by Gale Nelson from Brown University. I was introduced to it by William Walsh at the Hollihock Writer’s Conference where it was given as an icebreaker activity. After Walsh’s icebreaker, I was taken by the potential of using it with young learners who are new to or hesitant about creative writing.
The activity involves two writers/speakers creating a short dialogue, but there are restrictions on the amount of words used.
Speaker A (1 word)
Speaker B (2 words)
Speaker A (3 words)
Speaker B (4 words)
Speaker A (5 words)
Speaker B (6 Words)
Speaker A (7 words)
Speaker B (7 words)
Speaker A (6 words)
Speaker B (5 words)
Speaker A (4 words)
Speaker B (3 words)
Speaker A (2 words)
Speaker B (1 word)
I run workshops with k-21 students (transitions age for neurodiverse learners in the state of New York is 21) who, for a myriad of reasons, are often unsure, shy, or insecure about their writing abilities. In early sessions, I pair them up and let them write these dialogues together rather than jumping into more formal, solo prompts. I’ve found that doing so builds confidence, competence, and trust, both between the students and in me as their teacher.
I’ve also found that framing this as a conversation and allowing them to be silly, use slang, and read aloud turns the Snowball Dialogues into a language game rather than a worksheet, and the scripts are often hilarious and sometimes poignant.
Here are two Snowball Dialogues from my workshops:
Speaker A: Hello
Speaker B: What’s up?
Speaker A: How are you?
Speaker B: I just asked you.
Speaker A: I don’t know, what’s up?
Speaker B: Dude, I already asked what’s up!
Speaker A: Okay, fine, not much. How about you?
Speaker B: Just stop asking me what’s up, okay?
Speaker A: Okay, fine, relax. Okay, okay, okay
Speaker B: Okay, okay. I’m pretty good
Speaker A: Cool! Is anything new?
Speaker B Not really, no.
Speaker A: Oh, okay.
Speaker B: Okay.
Speaker A: Penguin
Speaker B: You okay?
Speaker A: I’m freezing man!
Speaker B: So get a blanket.
Speaker A: I’m too cold to move.
Speaker B: Okay then, goodbye, see you later!
Speaker A: Wait! No! Please don’t leave me here!
Speaker B: Alright, fine, what do you want again?
Speaker A: Do you have a penguin blanket?
Speaker B: Uhmm, okay, what is that?
Speaker A: A blanket for penguins.
Speaker B: Fine, pay shipping.
Speaker A: Okay, deal!
Speaker B: Okay!
In total, the writing portion of this activity should take about 10-15 minutes, but if your workshop is really into it, then let it run a little longer. There’s no hard time frame for the activity. Just make sure you save time at the end for the pairs to share their conversations out loud!
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Donnie Welch lives in Manhattan’s only forest. He runs poetry workshops with neurodiverse youth in schools and community centers in NYC.