Ask SD Tracy Harper #23
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Q: SD, what’s the
best way to write dialogue when there is more than two people talking?
A: This is
absolutely one of those times when practice makes perfect and know from the
start that there are going to be a lot of omelets made (It’s an old egg joke
about screwing up). In other words, there are going to be a lot of mistakes so
don’t get discouraged with your first, second, or fiftieth attempt. Before you
even attempt this, you best ask yourself one question and answer yourself
truthfully or you will be answering to yourself truthfully. The question is
quite simple. Is there no other way for you to have progression or give
information that is vital to the major story line in your work? If the answer
is no then get out a piece a paper and follow along. Here are some of the
tricks that I was shown that helped me a great deal.
Step 1. On the left side of the paper in place of using a person’s
name use a number. Depending on the amount of people you wish in this
conversation determines how many numbers you need.
Step 2. At the top of the page write down the solution or
answer to the conversation. This way in the end, the final words you want said are
said. Yes, it’s the old Abbott and Costello joke of who’s on first, and the
answer is number 1 saying First Base!
Step 3. This is most important because depending on the
personality of your characters will determine how many lines should be given
and when. Alpha characters like to take the lead or have the final say or get
everyone to agree. The quietest or shyest person may only have one or two small
lines of dialog, but they are usually most important. And, in most cases are
the one to say the correct answer, but never have the last line.
Step 4. Besides each number draw a box and put in it the
number of times that particular character speaks. No two characters shall have
the same amount of lines. Each character’s line quota must be different and the
one who has the most lines must be two to three lines greater than the next
character with the second most lines. Now remember that short and sweet keeps
down the confusion and always, always, always try your best to use the words;
said #1 or asked #2 or {emotion}whimpered #3, and of course , called #4.
Keep it simple, keep it clean, and keep it small. I hope
this helps. SD
Q: SD, what is the
easiest way to write an action scene?
A: Without knowing what kind of action scene you want to
describe (and I’m happy you didn’t tell me because it would be my vision and
not the one that counts… YOURS!). What I would normally do is sit back with a
pad, pencil and a nice cup of tea or hot chocolate in front of me. I would then
close my eyes and think about all the crazy things I want to happen (not in any
order). once I have a few things I would like to happen, I quickly write them
down. I would then take a sip of my warm beverage and repeat the process over
and over again until I have all the things I want to happen. I then will start
numbering them from what I would like to see happen first and the last thing to
occur. Once I have everything in order, I try to condense all of it as small as
I can get it. I then would sit it to the side for a couple of days and go over
it and smooth out anything that stops or slow down the flow of what is
happening. If all is well, then we read everything that leads up to the action
and what was the results of the action. There should be a change in the temp
before and after (the quiet before the storm and the trying to catch your
breath after getting off the roller-coaster). Once you are satisfied with the
results, back away from the work for a day or two or let a few others you can
trust read over what you had done. I hope this helps. SD
Q: SD, I have an
idea for a book, but I don’t know where to start. What do you suggest?
A: Surprisingly, it
really doesn’t matter. What does matter is that you start. Before you stop
reading and look for you answer elsewhere, think first that some of the
greatest stories don’t follow some given format. The story comes from you and
that is the only place you should look to where it starts, what it is about,
and how it will end or be continued. I can give you a perfect example of this.
There is a book call Moby dick, by Herman Melville . Do you know
how this classic book begins? It starts with the line; Call me Ishmael. If you
think that is off the beaten path, how about; It was a bright cold day in
April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. That one is from 1984 by George Orwell. My
point is for you to stop worrying how to start or what your first line should
be, just enjoy writing and it will come to you or you can follow your heart
like George Lucas’ Star Wars. Begin in the middle. I hope this helped SD
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