Week Two: All the Things They Say
If your characters are human they likely enjoy dialogue.
We are a social species, we humans, and we are a little bit narcissistic too. Humans
love to hear ourselves talk. We will run our mouths dry on a topic we are
impassioned with. We have entire systems of education, and communities based on
chattering at one another. So, what makes our characters any different?
Purpose.
The dialogue in a story has intention. Whether the words
we offer our characters to speak offer insight into plot or personality, they
do have purpose. If characters are discussing the weather it should probably
have some greater point than making small talk.
Exercise for Class or Group:
Trade Week One Dialogue assignments with another writer. Write the dialogue for one another’s observed
actions.
Was the description in the Week One Exercise enough to
guess the mood of the characters? If so,
did you feel the dialogue added or reduced the flow of the ‘story’. If not, how would you improve upon the
description, what is missing?
Exercise for Lone Writers:
Talk to yourself!
Walk around the house or sit very still, but always be looking in a
mirror. Let the dialogue flow. Just be a chatterbox. Soliloquy your heart out, or tell someone how
they have made you feel and play the part of the other too, listen to the
responses.
Or
Maybe mom was wrong, eavesdropping could be good for the
writer’s soul. Play super spy at a public
location. Listen in and try to write
down the conversations of those around you.
Note little nuances of speech and if there is a gesture or facial affect
that goes with certain moods.
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