A Positive Message: Joy, Laughter, Scenes From Real Life (the Real Thing), Kindness, Generosity, Heroes

I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves.

Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Mary would have turned 257 years old this week. (via oupacademic)

2011. 

There’s one thing you can absolutely, 100 percent rely on, which is that if you show five different people the same thing, they’re all going to have a different complaint or compliment. Each is going to have a different response, and you’d better know what you’re gonna do, otherwise you’re going to get confused… [H]ow much good can come from putting any time into studying how people are responding to your movies? The best case scenario is that it makes you feel flattered for a certain period of time, which doesn’t really buy you much, in life: and inevitably, it’s not going to just be the best-case scenario, so learn to spare yourself that experience, I’d say. – Wes Anderson

| 5am | nick |

How To Write Dialogue

🦢        ―        &. DIALOGUES . ( what is it? purpose,? types? things to avoid? )

What Is Dialogue, And What's Its Purpose?

Dialogue, as everyone knows, is what the characters in novels, plays, screenplays — basically any kind of creative writing where characters speak — say out loud.

For most writers, dialogue is one of the things we look forward to. It's the opportunity to let the characters' motivations, flaws, knowledge, fears and more come to life! By writing dialogues, you're giving them (the characters) their own voice, fleshing them out from concepts into three-dimensional characters.

Dialogues have multiple purposes — one of them is to characterize your characters. You can learn a lot about somebody's mindset, background, emotional state, and such more from how they speak.

Dialogue makes your writing feel more immersive as well! It breaks up long prose passages and gives your readers something to "hear" other than your narrator's voice. It can communicate subtext, like showing class differences between characters through the vocabulary they use or hinting at a shared history between them. Most times, a narrator's description just can't deliver information the same way that a well-timed quip or a profound observation by a character can.

Monologues

In contrast with dialogues, monologues are a single, usually lengthy passages spoken by one character. They are often part of plays.

A character may be speaking directly to the reader or viewer, or they could be speaking to one or more other characters. The defining characteristic of a monologue is that it's one character's moment in the spotlight to express their thoughts, ideas, and/or perspective.

Often, a character's private thoughts are delivered via monologue. This is called an internal monologue. An internal monologue is the voice an individual (though not all) "hears" in their head as they talk themselves through their daily activities.

Types Of Dialogue

Inner dialogue is the dialogue a character has inside their head. This can be a monologue. In most cases, inner dialogue is not marked by quotation marks. Some mark them by italicizing it.

Outer dialogue is a dialogue that happens externally, often between two or more characters. This goes inside quotation marks.

Things To Avoid When Writing Dialogue

1) Using a tag for every piece of dialogue. Dialogue tags are words like said and asked. Once you've established that two characters are having a conversation, you don't need to tag every piece of dialogue Doing so can be redundant and breaks the reader's flow. Once the readers know each character's voice, many lines can stand alone.

2) Not using enough tags. On another hand, some writers use too few dialogue tags, which can confuse readers. The readers should always know who's speaking. When a character's mannerisms and knowledge don't make that obvious, tag the dialogue and use their names.

3) Dense, unrealistic speech. Dialogues don't need to be grammatically correct. When it's too grammatically correct, it can make characters seem stiff and unrealistic.

4) Anachronisms. A pirate in 1700s Barbados wouldn't greet his captain with "what's up?" Depending on how dedicated you (and your readers) are to historical accuracy, this doesn't need to be perfect. But it should be believable.

Part 2 coming soon.

Para pensar un poco.

De verás Patricia? De verás piensas que un hombre que ha producido cantidad innumerable de artículos, videos, audios, no tenga una noción de las audiencias?

De verás piensas, que no hay un propósito en todo lo que mi persona desarrolla, paso a paso, punto a punto?

No piensas que debe haber algo que va más allá de la lógica del pensamiento?

Piensa afuera de la caja, Patricia! 

Cómo un ser humano que maneja muchas cosas, y hace muchas cosas, esta cegado acerca de las audiencias? En verdad, estoy cegado?

Piensa afuera de la caja!

Muchachos, amigos todos, Sol, Vero, Quacula, Fito, Momis, Brenda, Sandra, Rocio, Rosy, Sogo, Alex, Sandra, Juan? Volvamos al salón de clase, abramos nuestras mentes que eran prerequisitos para comunicar nosotros,  si queríamos entender?

Qué había detrás de las audiencias?

can you give tips on how to change up character dialogue? all of my characters end up sounding the same and i'm not sure how to fix it

How to Write Unique Voices for Characters in Fiction

When it comes to writing fiction, creating unique and believable characters is absolutely essential. One important aspect of character development is crafting unique voices that reflect each character’s personality and background.

Understand your characters

Before you can write distinct voices for your characters, it’s important to understand who they are. Building out a solid foundation and developing compelling backstories is one of the best ways to ensure they always have unique voices. Here are some tips for getting to know your characters:

Write character sketches that detail their backgrounds, personalities, goals, and motivations.

Conduct interviews with your characters as if they were real people, asking them about their likes and dislikes, fears, goals, and more (the Proust questionnaire is a popular way to do this).

Imagine how your characters’ past experiences will change how they speak in different situations and when experiencing varied emotions.

Use description to enhance your characters’ voices

Descriptions can be just as important as dialogue when it comes to creating character voices. Here are some tips for using descriptions to enhance your characters’ personalities:

Use specific details to create vivid descriptions of each character’s body language, mannerisms, and behaviour.

Consider how each character’s mannerisms might influence their speech patterns. For example, a character who is shy might be hesitant to speak or repeat themselves frequently.

Pay attention to how your characters interact with their environment. Do they use their hands a lot when they speak? Do they pace around the room or sit still?

Use sensory details to create immersion. For example, a character who is nervous might sweat profusely or fidget with their jewellery.

Avoid stereotypes and clichés

When writing unique voices for characters, it’s important to avoid falling back on stereotypes or clichés. Here are some tips for creating characters that feel fresh and authentic:

Avoid using dialects or accents. Not only do these often rely on stereotypes, but they also break reader immersion unless authenticity is absolutely essential to the type of book you are writing.

Consider how each character’s background and experiences might influence their beliefs and values. One-dimensional characters built on clichés won’t have unique voices.

Think outside of the box when it comes to creating distinct voices. Instead of relying on traditional archetypes, consider combining traits from multiple sources to create something new.

How to craft unique dialogue

With the basics in place, how do we convert unique character voices into dialogue? Here are some tips for writing dialogue that feels authentic and unique to each character:

Read your dialogue out loud to hear how it sounds, and make sure it’s true to how you imagine your character to be.

Give your characters a unique conversational quirk that feels natural. An example could be that they call everyone “love.”

Vary the length and complexity of sentences to reflect each character’s personality and background.

Consider how each character’s education and experiences might influence their vocabulary and sentence structure.

Use dialogue tags sparingly to avoid detracting from the actual words being spoken.

Avoid using too much exposition or explaining too much in dialogue. Instead, let the characters speak when it serves your story.

By understanding your characters, crafting unique dialogue, using descriptions to enhance character voices, and avoiding stereotypes and clichés, you can create vibrant, engaging characters that will keep readers hooked from start to finish.