The key to writing decent dialogue is listening to people speak. We finish each other’s sentences, cut each other off, ‘mansplain,’ and may other various things.
When I was a kid, it was a shouting match 90% of the time. A battle of words and wit. Most conversations never really ended, only morphed into a new conversation.
This weeks prompt is dialogue based! Write an argument:
Happy writing! xxoo-A
I finished my first draft! Hooray!! Yes, it took me longer than I originally anticipated. Life has a funny way of getting in the way. Between out of town guests and month long illnesses, there were many days I was unable to sit in front of the computer and get to work.
That said, I did keep tally on the days I wrote–and while I wasn’t consistent, on the days I could write I did very well. It took roughly 18 days to complete my first draft. And right there is the proof that plotting is the better way to go.
I’m sharing this for two reasons:
#1 — I FINISHED MY FIRST DRAFT!!
#2 — First drafts are exactly what the Terry Pratchett quote states. They’re a map for you to get from point A to point B.
I know a lot of people are working on NaNo right now, and if you’re one of those people I would like to say, good job! And remember, just finish.
It doesn’t matter who well written the first draft is, only that it’s done.
xxoo-A
Welcome the future! We didn’t implode. No, instead we have become the great explorers we’ve always wanted to be.
The world you live in is filled with interplanetary travel.
You’re traveling to all eight of Neptune’s moons, but you don’t want to go. Your mother insists–you have no choice. In between sulking and the all you can eat buffet–you meet ‘the one.’
S/he is everything you’ve ever wanted in a companion. What happens next?
[I’m assuming the love interest is a stow-away! Can their love last?]
I dreamt of an estate in Italy, at least that’s where my gut tells me it was. I’ve never been to Italy, but somehow I’m certain of the location. In the estate was a courtyard, and I saw me in it, wearing a violet and tangerine dress. Yes, this sounds like a terrible combination of colors, but I can assure you, it was a beautiful dress. Delicate and rich, like nothing I’ve ever own.
In the dream I loved the courtyard. There were raised gardens around the edges, and everything was made of old red bricks and gray stones. That place made me happy, but I wasn’t there anymore. I knew it wasn’t really me.
When I saw it, in my travels, I knew it was once mine. Just like I knew when I saw him, he was once mine, too. And he was perfect, and beautiful, and he made me happy.
But now he wasn’t there, and the courtyard was worn. Another woman owned it, and she didn’t like me being there. She didn’t like me remembering him. She wanted me to leave, but I couldn’t. Not without proof. Not without something tangible that showed I wasn’t insane.
When I found it, a book–leather bound, and falling apart, I knew my proof was on those brittle pages. As I reached for it–he was beside me. He reached with me, helping me pull it from the pigeon gray splintered shelf. The dry leather barely held the biding in place, and the pages were askew. One hand rested on my hip, his other on my arm.
And when he kissed me, I cried–because I knew it would never happen again. He left after that and I asked another man for help to find ‘him.’ We took a boat on the Mediterranean, but he was gone, and I was alone.
I’m not even sure why I’m sharing this, but I was online and I found an image of the courtyard. As I stared at it, all I could think, was, “Who was he?”
I guess I’ll never know.
(ps-I would have posted the photo but it wouldn’t let me)
xxoo-A
Many years ago a friend gave me the complete omnibus of Alias for Christmas. Written by Brian Michael Bendis and artist Michael Gaydos, ALIAS tells the story of on-time costumed superhero, turned P.I. Jessica Jones.
Maybe you’re unfamiliar with this story, so here is a description of the series, via Goodreads (and amazon if you’re checking):
“Once upon a time, Jessica Jones was a costumed super-hero, just not a very good one. Her powers were unremarkable compared to the amazing abilities of the costumed icons that populate the Marvel Universe. In a city of Marvels, Jessica Jones never found her niche.
Now a chain-smoking, self-destructive alcoholic with a mean inferiority complex, Jones is the owner and sole employee of Alias Investigations – a small, private-investigative firm specializing in super-human cases. In her inaugural arc, Jessica’s life immediately becomes expendable when she uncovers the potentially explosive secret of one hero’s true identity. But her wit, charm and intelligence just may help her survive through another day.”
Like I said, I’ve had this book on my shelf since (maybe) 2006. It’s a large book. (It’s also a very heavy one.) I never intended to ignore it–but book are a ‘go to’ gift when it comes to me. So I have many, and some get overlooked. But then…Jessica Jones landed on Netflix.
Now, admittedly, I am one of the few who didn’t much care for the series. Being a huge fan of Marvel’s Daredevil series, also on Netflix, on top of a giant David Tennant fan–I counted down the days for that show.
But I never finished.
So, I’m reading the book, or, better put: I’m reading the omnibus graphic novel the TV series was (loosely) based on.
My review is this title is as follows: if you liked the Netflix series or didn’t, you should still pick up ALIAS. Jessica Jones is funny, intelligent, sardonic, and caring. The character is SO much better in the novel. She whines a lot less, plus she kicks ass–AND–has super friends. It’s a great story to look at another side of the whole ‘super hero’ world we’ve become inundated with in recent years. It also doesn’t hurt that Bendis is a hell of a writer and Gaydos is a hell of an artist.
And once you finish this series, you can run over to your local comic shop and pick up the new Jessica Jones series (also by Bendis and Gaydos) that was released last month.
Happy Reading! xxoo-Aryn
Happy Wednesday, ladies and gents!!
Here’s a little bit about me. If you don’t know me, I have a child. Said child is currently 8 years old and his subject of choice is science. ANYTHING science. So, this weeks prompt comes from me reading (watching) and experiencing science. So the ‘prompt’ is a video (just over 6 minutes) about a 15 year old girl who wants to go to Mars.
What would it be like to spend your childhood preparing to leave Earth knowing if you go, you may never return?
Once a year I like to take a refresher course on writing. I think pausing to reflect is always a good thing, and a great way to check in with yourself. Plus, hey! You may learn something new as well, and when is that a bad thing? When I can’t afford to take a refresher course, I go to the old library and take out writing books–like, The War of Art by Steve Pressfield or On Writing, by Stephen King) but recently I discovered a site called “FutureLearn.com” that boasts a large collection of free courses. (You can purchase a certificate at the end of the course if you so choose, I choose not to do this.)
I’m half way through their Fiction Writing course (which is just okay) but now I’m surfing the upcoming (and current) catalog can’t decide what to take next? Should I take the Intro to Forensics? Should I take the World War I in 100 stories course? Then there’s the anthropology of social media, and on about the revolution in Ireland at the beginning of the last century?
CAN I HAVE MORE HOURS IN THE DAY TO TAKE ALL THE COURSES (yet still have time to finish my current WIP, continue querying my last MS, and still function in every day life?)
Life is unfair… but no one ever said that it was, so I guess I’ll put on my big girl pants and enroll in the forensics course. Why? Because it could come in handy in my current WIP or course!
Do you take any courses to help improve your writing?
Happy writing! xxoo-Aryn
Happy Friday! This week I wanted to review dialogue, and what a better way than looking at THE WEST WING.
The series aired from 1999-2006 and told the story of the White House Staff of fictitious President Jed Bartlet–a democrat that no one really liked (even thought they should.)
I’m not so much *reviewing* this show as I am pointing it out as a wonderful resource and example of how to write compelling dialogue. If you’ve never tuned in to an episode, this series is very much a character driven show. Any current television show that revolves around cameras following the cast at a panicked pace as they talk at, over, and around each other–well, THE WEST WING is the show to thank for that.
More specifically–Arron Sorkin is the man behind the show.
It’s very easy when writing dialogue to get caught in the back and forth of a written conversation. He said, she said–each line complete with the perfect punctuation, but in reality people talk over each other. We cut each other off. One of my flaws comes out when I’m tired or distracted. In the middle of a conversation I will just stop talking.
Example: “Yes, I’ll pick up some bananas when I…”
I know I do it. It drives my husband batty. I don’t mean to do it–but such is life. I am human, flawed like the rest of the world. Just as our characters are human–flawed as they must be. Unless their Spock, but even he has fallen prey to that 1/2 human side of his makeup.
If you have Netflix, the entire series is on there ready to stream. You can tune in, choose a specific episode, and go from there. All emotions are touched on, and Sorkin’s dialogue mixed with a very talented cast, is a fantastic resource for those who don’t want to go to the ball and watch crowds to see how they interact. Josh is a fan favorite of mine. He has a lot of compulsive mannerisms that make up his character. This show is very much worth your time (no matter what you’re politics are.)
Happy watching!! xxoo-A
Happy Wednesday! This weeks writing prompt is a little bit more of a trick to help you get you to start writing. Well, all prompts are there for that purpose, but this is a fun trick I learned! So, I’m passing it on.
I REMEMBER…
Write two sentences, but start the first one with, “I REMEMBER…”
“I remember the drab avocado green couch felt like an over sized cinder block wrapped in nylon wool. No matter how you chose to sit upon it, you would somehow bruise your tail bone.”
Once you’ve finished your two lines, go back and delete, “I REMEMBER” then read what you have left.
“The drab avocado green couch felt like an over sized cinder block wrapped in nylon wool. No matter how you chose to sit upon it, you would somehow bruise your tail bone.”
Now you try. Happy writing! xxoo-A
I recently entered the world of Audio Books. I got the idea from my writing partner–Michelle Bond. And if I’m going to be honest, I live in a city where audio books should reign supreme. They (study makers) say that people in LA spend, roughly, ninety hours a year stuck in their car.
What is a better way to use that time then to listen to an audio book? I like to call them “bonus books.” I like to find ways to sneak books into my life. I have my “night time” book–and then I have the books I read for research when I’m writing–now I have my traffic books.”
Most of these books I finish, but I’m finding my newly added “traffic books” don’t seem to get the attention they deserve.
I’m only two books into this experience. (Three if you count the time I tried to listen to Divergent, but we won’t count that because I only made it two lines in before I called it quits.)
Why did I call it quits? Two reasons.
#1–Book 1. I came out of the gate with “Gone, Baby. Gone.” Written by Dennis Lehane, who has a magnificent way of weaving words around you like a spider wrapping a fly–the book is narrated by Jonathan Davis, who also did a fantastic job at transporting me into the world of this story.
Why did I stop? The subject of this book is a hard one for anyone to read. As a mother and a woman, it was even harder. I found myself yelling at the stereo, and then I realized anytime I listened to Gone, baby. Gone. I would be depressed for the next hour or so.
My son has never had so many hugs as when I was listening to this book.
So I chose to stop because my heart couldn’t handle the content. That said, the characters in this book are incredible. If you’re a writer looking to get into the mystery market–read some Dennis Lehane. He’s very, very good at what he does.
#2–Book 2. Proven Guilty by Jim Butcher. Now, I haven’t officially given up on this book. I have four days left on the copy I downloaded from the library–but there’s a chance I’m going to let it expire and put a hold on the paper back.
Initially excited, the book is narrated by James Marster (whom you may remember as Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show), but then it became an issue… Every last word goes up at the end. Every. Last. Word. At first I shrugged it off as a character trait–which it may be. Proven Guilty is book 8 of a series, and was the only one available when I went looking at Jim Butcher books–but the longer I’m listening the harder it’s become to deal with it. At times it makes the MC feel insincere. But this is my number one grievance for audio books. If the narrator doesn’t pull it off–then the listener will turn it off.
That’s what happened with Divergent. I don’t have a clue who the narrator was/is. I’m not going to go look it up, but all I remember is how she delivered the first two lines, and I turned it off.
At this point I plan to keep trying. There have to be some books that are waiting for me to hear their sweet words, but if you have any tips on how to pick things out–I would love to hear them! I really don’t want to lose my bonus books… the make my day brighter. Mostly.
Happy reading! –Aryn–xxoo
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