Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Jun 10, 2009 in
Writing
I love dialogue. Love, love, love.
If I go back to all my old favorites, Arsenic and Old Lace…Abbott and Costello, Breakfast at Tiffany’s…. Bringing up Baby. I could go on. The thing about those old movies is that they would have collapsed without good dialogue. The time when movies were based on really good writing.
We’ve got that today, don’t get me wrong, but more often I like to sit down with a book and enjoy the lost art of dialogue and conversation–a witty read that pulls me into the character’s lives.
How do I apply that to my own writing?
I see it in my head like an old-time movie. [okay, i'll admit, this movie line just cracks me up]
Bobe Hope on Zombies [sorry, the embeding html didn't work
]
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Tags: dialogue, Movie lines, Writing
Posted by admin on May 17, 2009 in
Writing
Learning the craft, I’ve spent so many hours focused on fine-tuning the areas I’m weak in, such as description and emotions. Hours upon hours I’d write then edit and go over every word, every minute detail. I’d layer in physical descriptions, the five senses, emotions, worrying over every choice.
My conversations with other writers were heavily about what I had difficulty with. It was after all mostly what I thought about. But isn’t that the way of life for some people? We concentrate on what needs improvement and take for granted the rest. I knew I was good at dialogue, so I didn’t need to think about it. Did I?
The ironic thing is I’m usually a pretty positive person. In my every day life, I refuse to focus on the negative. I believe what you put out into the universe in terms of actions and thoughts, comes back to you. And I certainly don’t need to bring any negativity upon myself. So then why am I this way with my writing? While trying to learn and improve, I forgot to be grateful. I forgot to smell those virtual roses. I forgot to remember the good…the great.
I write awesome dialogue. My voice is incredible. My characters have unique sounds/voices. And I have a talent for plotting that makes my pacing flow smoothly and my plots believable. These are not insignificant and surely shouldn’t be overlooked. It is these attributes that will help pull me out of a mental funk after a crushing critique or a rejection. I won’t forget to smell those roses now.
So tell me…
What are you good at?
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Tags: characters, description, dialogue, emotions, Jennifer Bianco, Pacing, plotting, roses, Writing