tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post4800521211244181636..comments2024-03-27T12:41:31.596-06:00Comments on Book Dreaming: The Spaces Between the LinesShannon O'Donnellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17299313309059235876noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-88526088132839207872010-05-19T09:42:33.666-06:002010-05-19T09:42:33.666-06:00Sounds like Barry has some great dialogue advice. ...Sounds like Barry has some great dialogue advice. My favorite however would have to be, cut out the boring small talk. ;)Heatherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05130733681254163610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-71117064722021611052010-05-19T07:54:56.091-06:002010-05-19T07:54:56.091-06:00I love your advice. It's so true!I love your advice. It's so true!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-86667192809380801652010-05-19T07:54:54.365-06:002010-05-19T07:54:54.365-06:00I love your advice. It's so true!I love your advice. It's so true!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-52134666294940854072010-05-19T07:33:37.864-06:002010-05-19T07:33:37.864-06:00So very true, Shannon! I love reading dialog that ...So very true, Shannon! I love reading dialog that keeps me guessing. And so I love writing it too!Jody Hedlundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12424307540530719614noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-71678320826620611512010-05-19T07:28:05.782-06:002010-05-19T07:28:05.782-06:00VR has some good points!
I like knowing what the ...VR has some good points!<br /><br />I like knowing what the character is doing while they're talking. I think it's really telling. Are they listening? Or are they watching stocks rise and fall on the computer?<br /><br />Sorry to bring my marriage into it...Jennie Englundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13943722538573178226noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-92083287341762347372010-05-18T21:12:26.511-06:002010-05-18T21:12:26.511-06:00Great post, Shannon!
The four most important less...Great post, Shannon!<br /><br />The four most important lessons I've learned about dialogue:<br />1. Read all dialogue aloud (and narrative too, for that matter).<br />2. Less is more. Clip speech. It's rare for folks to speak in complete sentences esp. in casual conversation.<br />3. Often, what we don't say is more important than the words. Don't ignore nonverbal communication and subtext in dialogue.<br />4. Written dialogue should not be a transcript of how we really talk. We humans engage in a lot of verbal exchanges where we don't say anything:<br /><br /><i>"Hi, how are you?"<br />"I'm fine, how are you?"<br />"I'm great. What do you think of all this rain we're having?" </i><br /><br />No one wants to read this on the page!!!!! Dialogue should always move the story forward in some way.VR Barkowskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04927993233682731113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-41119856025887122762010-05-18T19:10:00.118-06:002010-05-18T19:10:00.118-06:00Dialogue is one of the hardest, scariest, and most...Dialogue is one of the hardest, scariest, and most fun things for me to write. I act out the scenes and make sure the tension of the scene is properly built up.Jonathon Arntsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17366218140886892757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-34377858717807760262010-05-18T18:58:44.149-06:002010-05-18T18:58:44.149-06:00I have only experimented with dialogue in my blog ...I have only experimented with dialogue in my blog posts so I am new to this. I appreciate your advice as well as the commenters--reading aloud and sticking mostly with "said" makes sense.Slamdunkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13087161268629251860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-23363518326630916772010-05-18T18:34:29.228-06:002010-05-18T18:34:29.228-06:00I love reading and writing dialogue - it's whe...I love reading and writing dialogue - it's where the characters become real.<br /><br />The best advice I've received is to read it aloud. Then you know if it works.Jemi Fraserhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02214408467456320167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-88049813100958950822010-05-18T17:39:27.115-06:002010-05-18T17:39:27.115-06:00I love dialogue!! It's one of my strongest tra...I <i>love</i> dialogue!! It's one of my strongest traits as a writer.<br /><br />I've absorbed all sorts of great tips about writing it, but I'm drawing a total blank right now. :o(Tracyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03726858055689145824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-26054796899384978332010-05-18T17:09:55.944-06:002010-05-18T17:09:55.944-06:00Agreed! What is not said, or the time it takes in...Agreed! What is not said, or the time it takes in between saying things, is just as important as what's said. Great point!Shelley Slyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07981620646634240160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-73168375257593637432010-05-18T16:50:58.482-06:002010-05-18T16:50:58.482-06:00Great blog post Shannon. I liked the quotes you sh...Great blog post Shannon. I liked the quotes you shared. I have some trouble when writing dialogue. I think it sounds so stiff. I just have to keep working at it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-59048274479963434182010-05-18T16:36:51.846-06:002010-05-18T16:36:51.846-06:00I love the dialogue quote too. This weekend, I to...I love the dialogue quote too. This weekend, I took a workshop on dialogue, which I'll probably post about soon. The instructor read a quote from Francine Prose's Reading Like a Writer. She also said it's what's left unsaid that's as important. But it's a leap of faith to leave the unspoken words, don't you think?Theresa Milsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03477761307315565259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-9951854311176079852010-05-18T16:24:58.187-06:002010-05-18T16:24:58.187-06:00Sadly, dialogue is not one of my strong points. I&...Sadly, dialogue is not one of my strong points. I'm trying though. And getting better.Hannahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16915603693944523761noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-85412283632332065182010-05-18T15:38:09.829-06:002010-05-18T15:38:09.829-06:00I love the quotes! They are full of brilliance. Wh...I love the quotes! They are full of brilliance. What a supremely helpful post!!! I am right in the midst of bunches dialog revision and this will help. Because my characters do so want to hold things back!And yet they have to talk...Tina Laurel Leehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04482757085942311091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-75803215917297157802010-05-18T14:59:44.173-06:002010-05-18T14:59:44.173-06:00Shannon, you are so wise. I'm reminded of some...Shannon, you are so wise. I'm reminded of something every time I stop by! Thanks!Kristinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13095264668972996587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-58500160259660341172010-05-18T14:59:26.023-06:002010-05-18T14:59:26.023-06:00This is a fantastic post, and I couldn't agree...This is a fantastic post, and I couldn't agree more! I personally love understated dialogue full of subtext. Maybe not to the extreme of Hemingway, where we don't even know what the characters are talking about, but I certainly love the minimalism of Peter Cameron, and Michael Cunningham. My favorite advice is that dialogue has to entertaining--unless it doesn't have to. Nami Mun's characters are hilarious, and that comes through mostly in the dialogue.LARCHMONThttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07484862915577134235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-78454047535732742572010-05-18T14:43:46.750-06:002010-05-18T14:43:46.750-06:00I am always listening to real life dialogue. How ...I am always listening to real life dialogue. How do people talk? What do they say? What is funny? Reading out loud is great, and I like the advice of one of the other commenters that random "actors" read the dialogue. That must have been great. I'm planning a live read-through for my current drama-in-progress.Mary Aalgaardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08051735579638637382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-3942322069485838762010-05-18T14:38:26.571-06:002010-05-18T14:38:26.571-06:00Guess what became official today?Guess what became official today?Janahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209234434495701611noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-50145669426198890262010-05-18T14:30:01.284-06:002010-05-18T14:30:01.284-06:00The spaces between the lines. Yes! I agree.The spaces between the lines. Yes! I agree.*https://www.blogger.com/profile/06484208765656281917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-17455110617840959512010-05-18T14:17:50.454-06:002010-05-18T14:17:50.454-06:00You are so right. I just finished a book which had...You are so right. I just finished a book which had unwritten words that made the book.<br /><br />As for the Birthday Phenmenon...It is so much work. I am about done with it and good I wont be sad to see it end.Liz @ Cleverly Inkedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16283766836059873892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-48648080443247747952010-05-18T14:17:12.308-06:002010-05-18T14:17:12.308-06:00I have the conversation in my head. Then I have it...I have the conversation in my head. Then I have it out loud. Then I put it on paper. Then I read it aloud. Then I cut, cut, cut. <br /><br />Yeah, use said, that's a big one - and hard to follow!Tarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09008153523366719973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-49176690856628634122010-05-18T13:57:19.578-06:002010-05-18T13:57:19.578-06:00Great post, and Barry Lane has definitely got a le...Great post, and Barry Lane has definitely got a leg up on dialog. <br /><br />What I do is as I'm writing a dialog scene, I get up from my chair, walk around, and talk it out--literally. My kids think I'm nuts, but that's all right. It really helps me. Could be the theater nut in me, don't know. ???<br /><br />I'll say it this way, then that way...Eventually, one way 'feels' right. It's like getting to know the character myself. ";-)<br /><br />I usually ask my character what he/she has to say. They 'always' tell me.<br /><br />Sheri~S.A. Larsenッhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241633272588383935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-84006360799195991132010-05-18T13:42:44.448-06:002010-05-18T13:42:44.448-06:00SO true!SO true!Tales of Whimsyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10938494589922620170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3945626570622121439.post-14663687947234253792010-05-18T13:29:08.303-06:002010-05-18T13:29:08.303-06:00I needed this, Shannon. Thank you!I needed this, Shannon. Thank you!Myrna Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13534358757278599925noreply@blogger.com