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Struggling with dialogue
Jun. 6th, 2006 06:13 pmUgh, I need to stop pecking at the same three paragraphs in my novel and write the next one.
It's a climatic point and I'm stalling. Partly because I liked how I wrote it five months ago, before the laptop got stolen and my writing along with it. Once I move past this clump, I'll feel much better - just got to get myself past it. Heavy dialogue section and dialogue can be a bitch to write well - lot's of people think they do it well, but honestly, if the dialogue is not moving the characters or story forward or at least telling you something about them in any way - you screwed up. Plus - you got to be careful with it, be true to the character - not have them say something just because it is convienent for you the writer to have it said or it sounds cool. If it isn't something the character would say - the reader will sense it and you'll lose them. And while it's tempting to play games with dialect and catch-phrases that you think distinquish characters from each other - it can be annoying to a reader and take them out of the story - or jar, not fit. When writing dialogue, you got to keep in mind each character has their own agenda, brings their own baggage to the party. They are going to be jockeying to have their say to get their agenda to the forefront. Dialogue can be like a verbal chess match or battle of wits, or it can be an assessing of one another - getting the other person's measure. It can be snappy or a series of interlocking monologues.
( an opinionated piece on struggling with dialogue, sure to piss someone off. So read at your own risk. )
It's a climatic point and I'm stalling. Partly because I liked how I wrote it five months ago, before the laptop got stolen and my writing along with it. Once I move past this clump, I'll feel much better - just got to get myself past it. Heavy dialogue section and dialogue can be a bitch to write well - lot's of people think they do it well, but honestly, if the dialogue is not moving the characters or story forward or at least telling you something about them in any way - you screwed up. Plus - you got to be careful with it, be true to the character - not have them say something just because it is convienent for you the writer to have it said or it sounds cool. If it isn't something the character would say - the reader will sense it and you'll lose them. And while it's tempting to play games with dialect and catch-phrases that you think distinquish characters from each other - it can be annoying to a reader and take them out of the story - or jar, not fit. When writing dialogue, you got to keep in mind each character has their own agenda, brings their own baggage to the party. They are going to be jockeying to have their say to get their agenda to the forefront. Dialogue can be like a verbal chess match or battle of wits, or it can be an assessing of one another - getting the other person's measure. It can be snappy or a series of interlocking monologues.
( an opinionated piece on struggling with dialogue, sure to piss someone off. So read at your own risk. )
