Some of us more ancient writers have never used Twitter. Please tell me your blog isn’t going onto Twitter because I dislike this sound-bite style intensely.
Oh, Chucky. I usually enjoy your blog posts, but I must confess (and do with it what you may) that these tweet storms you occasionally do are bothersome. I don’t want to hear what you have to say on a topic as important as this one in a bazillion 140 character twitter blips strung together. It destroys the conveyance of dry, scathing wit that I so enjoy. My request to you: hit this topic in a more traditional blog post format. Please? Maybe you already have? If so, hit me up with the link to that post. I love your insights and musings on the craft of writing.
Dialog is fun, dialog moves the plot and develops the characters… yes, all good (and fun is good). Dialog can be explained in Tweets, but dialog does not move the clock. Only narrative moves the clock (unless you’re Ayn Rand whose dialog could dry paint).
Narrative can be tough, verging on telling (not showing). Narrative can be long, confusing, boring. Narrative is filled with passive sentences, adverbs and grammatical errors. Tell us, in a long drawn-out narrative Obiwan Chuck… how do we write effective narrative?
I’m with Rene, if you don’t like this format you could…not read it maybe? Even as an almost totally unsavvy social media avoider, I don’t mind when Chuck shakes up the advice-delivery presentation a bit. And mentioning every dialog must alter the characters somehow- yes! Totally this!!
Personally, as someone who rarely gets on Twitter anymore, I appreciate the occasional compendium of 140 character nuggets of wisdom.
I always write the dialogue heavy scenes first in any WIP. Most of my stories come from two or three interesting characters just having it out with one another inside my brain space. I write a few of their conversations down, and a larger story emerges. Writing dialogue first is a great way to get a handle on your characters: their goals, their motivations, their deepest secrets and hidden depths. And, yes, dialogue must always move the plot forward. I’ve noticed that all dialogue seems to be accomplishing one of two things: a character trying to learn more about a person/place/situation, or a character trying to keep someone from learning more about a person/place/situation. It works best when the characters have opposing goals.
I’m the same way with dialogue. I used to actually outline my stories by writing scenes of pure dialogue. Which in retrospect was a terrible way of outlining, but hey. Something something, live and learn.
I’m a big fan of character-driven stuff, and love getting into the nitty-gritty of a character. It’s probably a big reason why I enjoy writing dialogue so much. I have to catch myself as I write–I toss stuff into the story kind of willy-nilly, and at times I can’t tell the difference between “fleshing out a character/relationship” and “writing something that’s easier than what I actually need to write.” But jotting down a few quick lines back and forth, or penning an offscreen argument, is a good way to build momentum for a scene I’m trying to write, even if the dialogue doesn’t make it into the scene itself.
Norma Parfitt says:
Some of us more ancient writers have never used Twitter. Please tell me your blog isn’t going onto Twitter because I dislike this sound-bite style intensely.
May 14, 2016 — 2:34 AM
M T McGuire says:
Love it. When I start writing a new thing dialogue is usually all I have.
May 14, 2016 — 3:32 AM
Awkwardly Alive says:
Love love love love all of this. Mainly because it justifies my very dialogue-heavy writing.
May 14, 2016 — 8:29 AM
Kathy says:
Oh, Chucky. I usually enjoy your blog posts, but I must confess (and do with it what you may) that these tweet storms you occasionally do are bothersome. I don’t want to hear what you have to say on a topic as important as this one in a bazillion 140 character twitter blips strung together. It destroys the conveyance of dry, scathing wit that I so enjoy. My request to you: hit this topic in a more traditional blog post format. Please? Maybe you already have? If so, hit me up with the link to that post. I love your insights and musings on the craft of writing.
May 15, 2016 — 11:30 AM
C. B. Matson says:
Dialog is fun, dialog moves the plot and develops the characters… yes, all good (and fun is good). Dialog can be explained in Tweets, but dialog does not move the clock. Only narrative moves the clock (unless you’re Ayn Rand whose dialog could dry paint).
Narrative can be tough, verging on telling (not showing). Narrative can be long, confusing, boring. Narrative is filled with passive sentences, adverbs and grammatical errors. Tell us, in a long drawn-out narrative Obiwan Chuck… how do we write effective narrative?
May 15, 2016 — 12:48 PM
Rene says:
To put in a counterpoint, I enjoy the storify-ed tweets. Perhaps those of you who find them irritating might consider skipping them? But for those of you that don’t, here are links to two longer-form posts Chuck has done on the subject: http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2011/07/05/25-things-you-should-know-about-dialogue/ and http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2010/02/08/characters-make-talky-talky-how-to-write-dialogue-that-doesnt-suck-moist-open-ass/
May 15, 2016 — 3:44 PM
curleyqueue says:
I’m with Rene, if you don’t like this format you could…not read it maybe? Even as an almost totally unsavvy social media avoider, I don’t mind when Chuck shakes up the advice-delivery presentation a bit. And mentioning every dialog must alter the characters somehow- yes! Totally this!!
May 16, 2016 — 11:17 AM
Charlotte Grubbs (@literary_lottie) says:
Personally, as someone who rarely gets on Twitter anymore, I appreciate the occasional compendium of 140 character nuggets of wisdom.
I always write the dialogue heavy scenes first in any WIP. Most of my stories come from two or three interesting characters just having it out with one another inside my brain space. I write a few of their conversations down, and a larger story emerges. Writing dialogue first is a great way to get a handle on your characters: their goals, their motivations, their deepest secrets and hidden depths. And, yes, dialogue must always move the plot forward. I’ve noticed that all dialogue seems to be accomplishing one of two things: a character trying to learn more about a person/place/situation, or a character trying to keep someone from learning more about a person/place/situation. It works best when the characters have opposing goals.
May 16, 2016 — 8:12 PM
Inspector Dim says:
I’m the same way with dialogue. I used to actually outline my stories by writing scenes of pure dialogue. Which in retrospect was a terrible way of outlining, but hey. Something something, live and learn.
I’m a big fan of character-driven stuff, and love getting into the nitty-gritty of a character. It’s probably a big reason why I enjoy writing dialogue so much. I have to catch myself as I write–I toss stuff into the story kind of willy-nilly, and at times I can’t tell the difference between “fleshing out a character/relationship” and “writing something that’s easier than what I actually need to write.” But jotting down a few quick lines back and forth, or penning an offscreen argument, is a good way to build momentum for a scene I’m trying to write, even if the dialogue doesn’t make it into the scene itself.
May 16, 2016 — 11:49 PM