#28, #29

Life is never how we expect it, is it?

I learned long ago to not say, “Things are going well.”

“Hey, we’ve had no real troubles lately.”

“Yup, life’s running pretty smoothly!”

A recipe for disaster, those comments. An invitation to the Universe to look a little more closely at my house.

In writing, there are things our characters shouldn’t say, too. Not because they may pull the heavens down on themselves but because they may lose readers.

“He writes teens like they’re adults. No kids talks like that.”

“She was way too smart. Too political. If felt like the author was talking, not the character.”

“It was like reading the story of a 40-yr-old woman, not a teen.”

“Not one line of dialogue sounded real or had depth.”

“I thought she was a stalker.”

These are all things I have heard about books out there on shelves. Ack! Don’t let that be about my writing, please!

When writing dialogue, you shouldn’t imitate ‘real speech,’ as we are boring. I’ve seen this plenty when teaching, talking to my girls, hanging out with my buddies. Not everything I say is that great, and people wind up with their eyes glazed over.

However, this isn’t a good idea for a writer.

You don’t want people skimming your work, looking only for great kisses or funny lines. You want them to read each word. No eyes glazing over! No 40-yr-old shining through! No political agenda! In writing dialogue, our characters should get to the point. No hemming and hawing. There isn’t time for that in a novel for kids or teens.

Every word must count. Every word should carry weight. No wasted words. None. Dialogue can show who a character is, can reveal information about the story, can move the plot forward and plenty other amazing things–and you should use dialogue for just that.

#28

Look over your dialogue. Is it doing work or is it just a way to fill white space?

Are your characters saying things they never would?

Is the story moving because of the dialogue?

Are you trying to preach through your characters?

Are you letting the story just shine though?

 

#29

Without looking at your work, rewrite a scene of dialogue.  Change the characters so a secondary character is now the MC. How does the dialogue change? Motivation should change the scene.

Wanna read a professional’s dialogue?

Check out the Blossom family by Betsy Byars. We’re reading WANTED . . . MUD BLOSSOM aloud. (Yes, all my kids are grown, but we still read out loud over here. Does wonders for storytelling.)

Hilarious!

Want to learn more? Here’s this great article:

http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/rewriting-the-7-rules-of-dialogue

 

Three Things Thursday

Brenda Bensch

Hip, Hip, Hooray ! ! ! My 2016 WRITER’S MARKET DELUXE EDITION just arrived.

OK. Well, it was here when we picked up our newspaper this a.m. It must have come while we were out last night seeing an absolutely hilarious version of Hairspray at a small, LIVE theater in Ogden: The Ziegfeld. For such a TINY stage (it’s an old movie theater) and GOOD, but recorded, music — you should SEE what they do with what they’ve GOT! ALWAYS fantastic dancing, singing, staging, costumes, etc. And the professional credits of many of the performers is astounding: people who’ve performed at various colleges like the U of U, Weber, BYU, etc.; others in small professional theaters, many from Utah’s Hale Theaters, Wasatch Theatre, Utah Rep. They’ve also appeared in various elementary, junior high, high school productions. We’ve seen some who were even CURRENT students in junior high and elementary schools.

Others have done commercial work, or have been on television. Many have college degrees and/or MFA’s. Some have been on stages in NY, LA, San Francisco, Dallas, St. Louis, or have even performed at the Kennedy Center and/or the White House.

Why am I telling a bunch of writers this? You want to learn to write dialogue? Listen to what works in a well-rehearsed play where every word counts and must add to the story portrayed. Look at the length of time it takes to get from one place to another on even a small stage — do you have things happening too closely together, taking more time than is realistic? Note body positions as actors interact with each other, romantically, or physically fighting, or walking, running, skipping, dancing from one place to another. What is PHYSICALLY not possible that you’ve written into a scene? Go to a well-produced play or musical. There’s a lot to learn.

 

Cheryl Van Eck

I’ve been thinking that I need to start journaling again.

It’s one of those things that I love when I do it, but I have trouble getting back into the habit once it’s broken.

I think the reason I like it so much is that I have a terrible memory. Everything in my past either turns rosy or black…for instance, I can’t remember a single good thing about middle school, but I also can’t remember a single bad thing about my first year of college. I know my life was somewhat balanced at both times, but without journals I can’t remember any of it.

When I do go back and look at old journals, I find it incredible how much I’ve changed. I still feel like I’m 16 sometimes…until I look at what I was actually like at 16. I mean, really, did I ever think about anything besides boys?? I feel like I could have cured cancer by now if I’d redistributed just half of my brain power.

Anyway, now that I’m writing YA, those journals are invaluable. My teenage logic, hopes, dreams, and actions can create valuable insights to my characters.

Do you journal? Why or why not?

 

Kyra Leigh!

Things are changing and I’m back to this blog.

I have been working my ass of to just stay above water, but I think I have finally found my groove. I’m cooking again, I’m working out, and most importantly . . . I’m back to writing.
I’ve also been reading a lot

This is just a quick note to let the few followers we have know I’ve got a plan. A grasp on my blog posts and on writing.

I just gotta get it done.
Let’s write!

We’re making a few changes

See you on the flip flop!