tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post4437438453039159743..comments2023-10-11T09:22:33.136-04:00Comments on Paperback Writer: Can We Talk?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-32813498836551677002012-07-05T11:15:12.633-04:002012-07-05T11:15:12.633-04:00When I took my MA in Creative Writing one of the t...When I took my MA in Creative Writing one of the tutors gave a group of us a session on dialogue. <br /><br />We listened to real conversations and read dialogue out loud, and then compared the two. It was amazing how different they were. The lesson I took home from the session was that dialogue is also fiction, and as you say, it should flow. Dialogue in a novel sits on the page alone, whereas real conversation also has body language and facial expressions to add information to the listener, so it needs to give a lot more information than the spoken words. if you were to copy a long conversation on the page, it would look impossibly long, with many ah's and ooh's, repetitions and unnecessary expressions.<br /><br />Great post - I love discussing the technical aspects of writing!<br /><br />Helena xxAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02658858373848443540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-4396792003899050152012-07-05T10:51:16.912-04:002012-07-05T10:51:16.912-04:00When I work with newer writers, I suggest that the...When I work with newer writers, I suggest that they cast their secondary characters with actors they are familiar with so they can hear the dialogue more accurately. <br /><br />Once they get this skill down, it's much easier to write original characters who don't all sound alike or like them.Marilynn Byerlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16720129999636676998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-3089291519865397692012-07-05T07:08:08.159-04:002012-07-05T07:08:08.159-04:00Great advice. I've been eavesdropping on real ...Great advice. I've been eavesdropping on real conversations for years and using bits in my dialogue. Half an hour in a food court with a cup of coffee and a newspaper can be fascinating.Sofie Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16830230500527705589noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-55556707497353677662012-07-05T04:16:58.304-04:002012-07-05T04:16:58.304-04:00Wow! What a helpful blog. I think this is probab...Wow! What a helpful blog. I think this is probably the reason I'm not a very good writer. Every time I've tried to write conversations between my characters I'd get stuck because it wasn't what I'd say. I'd try to make it a sassy, snappy bit of talking but because I couldn't hear myself say it, it didn't work. I don't get the sense of a character as an individual and that's why I can't write anything other than dull stilted dialogue and boring stories. Not that I don't enjoy trying ...<br /><br />I say thank goodness for those wonderful authors who can and I shall just carry on doing what I do best - read!Fran Kanenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8343238.post-9804189346549930272012-07-05T02:46:31.652-04:002012-07-05T02:46:31.652-04:00Clunky, hamfisted dialog will throw me out of a st...Clunky, hamfisted dialog will throw me out of a story faster than lightspeed. <br /><br />I've been told I write dialog well, and I can't explain how, except learning, as you say, by listening to people. I do thank my high school english teachers for introducing me to creative writing, and crafting dialog, but most people I've come across were told to follow strict rules for all writing, including fiction.niconoreply@blogger.com