Friday, June 19th
Ahh, dialogue. One thing I’ve realized about dialogue is I can learn something new about it no matter how many times it’s discussed. Dialogue is so hard to get right; not only does it inflect character, intonation, and information, but it also lends to immediacy. Dialogue has so many parts put into it – word use, accents, etc – that perfecting dialogue is tricky; particularly since dialogue can never be as loose as real dialogue, but is a brushed up, carefully worded construct similar to real speech patterns.
Honestly, I could talk at length about it, but the only thing that makes for good dialogue is lots of practice.
I received Jan’s feedback on Devil’s Tongue today. Although I enjoy and appreciate the critiques given me, it was fun to sit down to fresh stories by other writers and critique them. I love editing pieces, both line and content-wise. I learn so much about myself as well as the writers that by the end I felt like I knew Jan and Marcia better than before. Both of their backgrounds shine so clearly in their writing styles. Jan focuses on detailed, vivid description, and Marcia tends to write in a more editorial, journalism sort of way. I hope both of them keep working on their pieces and clean them up; I’d love to see them in print.
3 comments:
You are awesome!
I'd never thought about critting someone's work being a window to their world, but now that you say it, it makes sense. :D
I am learning about how my characters sound,just by writing the dialogue. They are beginning to have their own sound now too, when I read it back.
I have just critiqued my first for a friend, it was really interesting to do. I fluffed about politely at first, then thought it is not fair on her, so gave it the effort it deserved. She does with mine.
:)
And I would love to see YOU in print! Dialogue is hard for me. I have the hardest time making it sound genuine. Urgh.
Post a Comment