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 ]

Dialogue. It’s what moves the story at a faster pace. It’s what drags the reader into the world of the character and breathes life into the scene you’ve created.

Can I talk to anyone in real life? YES.

Am I ever at a loss for words? HARDLY EVER!

But when it comes to my writing, I love my narratives and my descriptions and even those inner dialogues my characters have with themselves (hey, if I can talk to myself, why can’t they? ) - it just seems when I get those two people together on the page – I stop dead.

I’ll labor over those important words for DAYS. I’ll stare at the open quote mark and bang my head on the desk. If only my characters could all be telepathic mutes – I’d be fine

And the kicker? I struggle days over my dialogue and my crit partners comment how sparkling and easy it appears on the page.  HAHAHA. Thanks girls for the boost – just don’t ask how long those few lines of dialogue took me to write or how much blood was spilled for that one stinking scene. You really don’t want to know!

At my recent local RWA meeting,  I got some ideas that I plan to try this week – because as always, I’ve been staring at my hero’s blank response for just a little too long!

It was suggested I talk it out – yes, out loud. Okay, I talk to myself constantly…this should not be a problem. Why hadn’t I thought of this before?

Another suggestion was to write out the narrative and then convert as much as possible to dialogue (of course, without it being telling or an info-dump!) Another great suggestion – especially since I love my narratives.

What really surprised me is that some writers actually write the dialogue first. I almost passed out.  Of course it got me thinking about this and I wonder how many writers either struggle with dialogue or love it? What techniques do they employ to get that dialogue sounding real and in abundance?

This inquiring writer needs to know.

So, how much is too much?

Let me give you a couple of examples –
One of my heroes drugs the heroine with something that gets her pretty darn hot under the collar, chains her naked to the bed, and films her. Then he sends the tape to the guy he thinks is her husband, to torment him. (Along with some pretty dire threats, I might add.)
Too much?
I don’t think so. He’s not forcing her as such, he’s not even touching her.
He also gets his comeuppance at her hands.
She essentially rapes him. (Result of the drug.)
Is that too much?

Another scene/chapter I have (different novel) is one where the hero reduces the heroine from a sassy, snarky, sexy young woman, to a naked, terrified, crying wreck on the bathroom floor.
Sounds awful, doesn’t it?
It’s what happens. There’s nothing he can do to prevent it, he doesn’t want to do it, but the end result is awful.
Still sounds awful, and I hear people go “You always have a choice”.
Yes. He has a choice. The other choice is letting her die.
Although she knows this, what happens to her at his hands is going to make both their lives hell.
So, is it too much?
Should I soften the blow, because reading that chapter is going to make a great many readers cringe? They won’t hate him, he’s doing it for all the right reasons, but it is going to make for a bit of dreadful reading.

I don’t like the old historicals anymore, but I wonder how we will react to some things written today, in ten years time.

You tell me.
How much is too much? Can you justify away everything? Or not?
Does a taboo only apply to physical violence, or is mental torture just as bad?
Is threatening as bad as doing?
What about the role reversal? (She doing it to him, rather than the other way around.)

Is it a better understanding of the characters, the plot, all of the above? Could it be the voice and/or genre?

My current ms is a YA mystery. It’s my first YA, so it could go to reason that it would be difficult. But my heroine, a snarky teenager, is a breeze. Her words come almost effortlessly and her GMC is pretty easy. Her voice doesn’t seem far away from the snarky heroine I wrote in my last adult mystery, yet this one is practically writing itself. (Perhaps it has something to do with my own level of sarcasm and still present teenage angst. )

I also started writing (or tried to) my next project, which is an adult mystery. I’m purposely attempting for this heroine to not speak with snark, for the most part, and it’s definitely not writing itself. In fact, I’m currently working on my third opening. It’s not fun, cute or funny, like I hoped. Am I just not connecting with my heroine? Maybe I don’t fully understand her, or maybe she’s not fun to me.

So what about you? Do you have books that naturally flow (give or take amodicum of hair pulling)?

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?

I just finished revising chapter 26 of my current WIP–Shake the Sugar Tree. I’m jumping in my seat because all of a sudden I can see the end of the tunnel and it’s not this tiny dot of light in the distance. There are possibilities in writing…

It’s a journey of possibilities for me. I wake up every morning and see the possibility of success, of failure, of laughter and of death.

I know it’s easy to get caught up in the practical side of things. The how-tos. [Been there!!!] My challenge for all my writer friends is to remember the possibilities. Remember the what ifs, the fun of creating a story. Even through revisions, keep your eye on that satisfying ending because getting there is most of the fun.

You’ve been a huge encouragement to me…and I’m getting all teary just thinking about bringing this story to a close.
Love,
Bethanne

I doubt I’m the only one who feels this way.
So what are the keepers you can’t bear to read again, but won’t let go of anyway?
Do you keep them out, or do you box them up?
Do you try to read them again?
Do you get put off, because the style that seemed so great when you first read it, is just not what you would read now?
I know I do.
And I keep the books anyway, would never part with them.
To me, they are like old friends you haven’t seen in a long time. But now you can see all their irritating habits, and prefer to know them from a distance.

Yesterday, my daughter and I watched The Seventh Sign, with Demi Moore and Michael Biehn. I first saw it when it first came out in 1988. I fell in love with this movie–it’s twists and turns, the information, the ending. I purchased the VHS and must’ve watched it at least 10 times. It spoke to me on so many levels, and when I happened to turn to a channel showing it, just as it began, I couldn’t believe it. I became very excited and told my daughter how awesome it is.

Then a good 45 minutes in, I thought about how slow it seemed. Where were the good parts? Why was everyone just talking? I knew how it ended, and recalled some of the parts where I once oohed and ahhed, but they seemed sooo far away. It was during the middle of this movie that I realized how times have changed.

We hear all the time how we don’t have the attention spans we once did due to the media. Commercials deliver a full commercial in 30 second…S.E.C.O.N.D.S! Can you believe that? I watch commercials all the time (HUGE television fan here), but I never counted how long they were–never cared. The shows my kids watch zip, zing and zap. We’ve grown accustomed to fast, fast, fast.

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of groans from other writers who enter contests and receive comments about how their book opening is too slow. Does every beginning nowadays need explosions in the first 250 words? Are stories only good if they’re chock full of trapeze acts? What about the slower,  more quiet stories that still grip your heart and thrill your soul? Is the destination good only if the journey is strung out on caffeine?

Don’t get me wrong, I love an exciting explosion or edge-of-your-seat tension throughout, but if we continue at this pace, where will we be in another 20 years?

Take a look at our sidebar to the right – we’ve got 14 talented writers, and while we’re busy writing our own novels, critiquing for each other and sharing our day to day lives inside the forum…we’ve also been busy planning a blogging schedule.

The first thing you’re going to notice in the days to come will be the voices. We are NOT a genre specific group. We’re not all paranormal romance writers or erotic writers. Maybe you’re looking  for sweet romance or a great suspense? What about a YA romance, historicals or western romance? We are ALL romance writers here.

One day you might find a recipe for nailing a suspense scene, or maybe a recipe for the perfect brownie, with a diversified group such as this we just might take you by surprise (and we just be might be tossing in a free book every now and then!)

So, however you found us today, we hope you’ll come back!

Article in Oceanic Gazette, Page 24

Article in Oceanic Gazette, Page 25

This article appeared in the Oceanic Gazette April 22nd 2009.

Congratulations, Jennifer!
We’re proud of you!