Writing Tips: Let’s Talk Writing Dialog

Today I want to discuss writing dialog. We’re going to jump straight into it by looking over dialog’s punctuation format. If you you have a piece of dialog followed by he said/she said/a sentence that modifies the talking, AND you intend to use a period to end the talking, you must, instead, use a comma. (In example: “Right, I totally believe you,” Raven said, rolling her eyes.) If you’re using a question mark or an exclamation mark you insert them as usual without a comma of any sort. If the dialog is at the end of the paragraph and there’s nothing after it, you can still end it with a period. (In example: Morgan shoved Devin away. “I said to back away, not come closer.”) HOWEVER, if there is a sentence before the dialog that modifies it, then a comma goes after that modifier. (In example: Britt arched an eyebrow before adding, “It also helps that you’re handsome.”) Crack open the nearest fiction book and look at the dialog pieces for more examples.

Generally speaking, you want to use exclamation marks sparingly in dialog. If the character is shouting, exasperated, or excited the dialog and description should reveal that. Additionally, try to stick to she/he said. Asked is considered a safe dialog verb as well. Things like shrieked, shouted, yelled, sputtered, etc CAN be used as well, but as with exclamation marks they should be used sparingly.

The above rules may seem like killjoys, but it’s for the reader’s sake. Using different verbs for dialog really pulls readers out of the groove. As a society we have been trained to essentially ignore the he/she said tags. When reading a book you’re barely aware of them. The same cannot be said for more colorful verbs.

There is another alternative. If you’re having a conversation between two characters you can chop off the usage of he/she said altogether. In example….

Britt yawned. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I may be bored.” Merlin glanced up from his paper work. “This winter season has been quiet. You had best enjoy it while it lasts, lass.” “What do you mean?” “Spring is nearly here, and all the wretched warmongers will pop out of the ground with the pretty flowers you love so much.”

I never once used he/she said, but you knew who was speaking every time, first because the actions gave away who was talking, and then because of word usage and word order. Some authors use motions/action tags to let you know who is talking, and others use a character’s voice to let you know who is talking. (For instance, Merlin is the only person in King Arthur and Her Knights who calls Britt lass. If my readers see any dialog with the word lass in it they know it’s Merlin.)

OK, so now that you’ve got a basic overview of how dialog is set up, how do you write dialog itself? If you’re serious about writing good dialog you need to become a people watcher. Listen to the way your friends and family talk, then go out and listen to strangers and see what they talk about and how they say it. Each character needs to have a unique voice. An uncultured peasant isn’t going to talk like a King, just as you Great Aunt Ellie isn’t going to sound like the 15-year-old neighbor boy. A typical teenager uses slang, and people say things differently depending where they live and their economical standing. (Is it soda, pop, or coke? Is it a drinking fountain or a bubbler? How about a couch or a sofa?)

Also, your character’s personality should be reflected in what they say. Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice is prideful while his friend, Mr. Bingley, is easy going and amiable. The difference is obvious in the dialog as Mr. Bingley says he finds everything agreeable and Mr. Darcy is typically realistic with  a large dash of criticism. The personality difference should show from character to character, but also between the opposing forces in your story. Your villains must be strikingly different from your heroes. You will never find a group of truly evil villains complimenting each other, or wondering if they’ll find their one true love. Instead they would dwell on conquest and power, and the words they use will be darker.

I’ve barely scratched the surface with this crash course, but hopefully it pointed a few of you budding writers in the right direction. Sorry for the delay in uploading Friday’s post, but thanks for reading!

Writing Tips: Characters I love to write

I’ve been slaving away over Beauty and the Beast, and I have to confess, my favorite character to write is the Beast’s shallow, selfish brother, Crown Prince Lucien.

Lucien is unapologetically selfish. He says want he wants, get what he wants, and acts the way he wants. Conversely he is deeply loyal to the Beast, and there is very little he wouldn’t do for him. What I love about Lucien is that he has no sense of reserve. He’s so fun to write because he has very few boundaries and I get to spend my time thinking of selfish, silly things for him to say when I write his scenes. I created Lucien to be a character readers will both like and dislike, so I found it a little odd that I enjoy writing him so much. I decided to look back through a few of my books and see if I could spy a pattern.

In terms of favorites, Britt from King Arthur and Her Knights is certainly up there. She’s easy and diverting to write because even though she’s plopped in the middle of an Arthurian romance she is very down to earth. Asher and Aron–the mischievous Montamous Twins from Life Reader–are high on my list of favorite characters as well. I love the devious twists to their personalities, the fact that they can effortlessly bounce jokes off one another, and I greatly prize their ability to break/hack their way into just about anything. In Red Rope of Fate I really enjoyed writing Tari and Arion, but my secret favorite character is Seer Ringali–Tari’s mentor and instructor. I love the way he holds no criticisms back, stomps over all elvish social norms, and openly wields odd accessories as hidden weapons. My favorite character from the Robyn Hood series is a little more difficult to pin down, but it’s probably either Robyn herself, or the dramatic duo of Much and Will Stutely. I like that Robyn is terrified of being a leader,  not at all courageous, and  that she doesn’t try to hide either of these facts from her men. When it comes to Much and Will Stutely I like the over-dramatic antics they use to get their points across, and the fact that they’re basically the camp gossips.

I could go on, but after looking at just a few books I realized I typically like the characters who do not mince their words and are straight forward. It’s surprising how that character trait can be expressed in dozens of different ways–From Seer Ringali’s rude observations to Prince Lucien’s incessant complaints. There are exceptions, of course–I’m not entirely certain Britt belongs in the straight forward category–but characters who say exactly what they are thinking are undoubtedly easier (and a lot of fun) to write.

That’s what I think, anyway. Tell me, Champions, what kind of characters do you like?

Writing Tips: My Tunes

When I talk to people about being an indie author there’s a few typical questions that get asked. How do you come up with your ideas? How long does it take you to write a book? Which of your characters is your favorite? And, surprisingly, what music do you listen to when you write? I’m going to tackle the last question in today’s post.

For starters, I rarely listen to music with words when I write. When I was a journalism student in college one of my professors explained to me that if you listen to music with words while you write it will influence the article. It might make you subconsciously change your word choice, or it might be something as obvious as making your article vaguely rhyme with the song. I tried it out back in my apartment and found that he was right–I had written my homework assignment in a cadence that matched the song.

Since then I’ve switched to instrumental music whenever I write. Of course there are a few exceptions, but usually it’s one song in a play list of 25 or 50. So if mainstream music is out, WHAT do I listen to?

A lot of movie and video game soundtracks.

For the King Arthur and her Knights books I listen to a playlist consisting of music from Zelda: the ocarina of time–a video game. For Red Rope of Fate I listened to music from the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie. Lord of the Rings orchestral music was my go-to soundtrack for Princess Ahira, and as I write Beauty and the Beast my playlist consists of music from Final Fantasy XIII–another video game. (Click on the links to visit youtube videos that give you a taste of the soundtracks.) Typically I select a specific soundtrack for every book, but occasionally I’ll build a customized playlist to fit specific moods. In example, for one of my books (which has yet to be finished and released) I built a playlist for battle scenes, drawing songs from different soundtracks.

Choosing the right soundtrack for a book takes time, and it makes the writing process easier. I wrote Beauty and the Beast for roughly two weeks before I decided on the Final Fantasy soundtrack. I’ve been using the soundtrack as my background music for approximately the same amount of time, and my productivity has almost doubled.

Speaking of which, I need to hop off to write. Beauty and the Beast is currently clocking in at 29,000 words, and it’s coming along swimmingly. Thanks for stopping by, Champions, and I will see you on Friday.