Right, wrong, good, bad and in-between. I read, write, join, submit and re-write until at times I can no longer recognize my story trying to conform.
For me, following rules are hard. I need to understand the why, the how and the need for the rule. In writing, there aren’t a lot of explanations for most of these so called rules. I was so excited to read todays post from Anne R. Allen’s Blog. She set me free. Thank you Anne. Writers go forth and write!
The sun is out, and all’s well in North Texas! Enduring three days of the great ice storm of 2013, my cabin fever reached an all time peak. I mean on day three I didn’t bother changing out of my PJs. Food supply grew low, due to the fact we spent the first twenty-four hours without power and my ice cream melted. How can a girl survive with no ice cream? So after much whining, my brave hubby agreed to go forth and forage. The problem was many stores were low and out of the basics such as milk, eggs, bread, beer and wine. Turns out, my daughter was right. Stock up Mom she said, but no, I didn’t believe we would be holed-up that long. Sitting in front of a roaring fire, (remember open damper next time), sipping red wine (lots of wine by day three), watching holiday movies or reading a good book sounds so Hallmark. Until it’s not.
By day three, the wine cooler was running low, and I considered finding an AA group for an intervention. Of course, there’s my dog, maybe he was hitting the sauce too. The holiday movies of old are worse than my memory; so we rented crummy movies on pay-per-view. Most important by day three the cupboards were bare, and I found myself making stuff from scratch. Mom would be so proud of me. But let’s be honest, cooking the old way sucks.
The average temp here during December is 58o, but day three it barely reached a whopping 34o. However, always the optimist, I hoped the weather report was right and listened for dripping of melting ice from the roof. The sound of the TV is background noise but the announcer droning on about the weather grabs my attention. I picked up the remote, turning up the volume. Freezing fog? In Texas? My mind went blank. I rewind the TV, yep, I heard him right. Fog will add another layer of black ice to the roadways. Well, shit. I hand back the remote to hubby and soon the roar of more football fills the air. I shuffled to the kitchen paused at the oven and considered sticking my head…. Instead, I opened the last bottle of wine and with the tattered cookbook my mother gave me forty years ago I searched for another easy and quick recipe. A definite contradiction. Sounds like a grilled cheese and Campbells tomato soup night, (the use by date was last week). Don’t judge, not everyone’s cut out to be Betty Crocker.
The phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID and answered worry clouding my mind. No one or nothing could’ve prepared me for the sound of your voice nor the anger and hurt spilling forth. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces as I stood unmoving, letting the words pierce my soul. Some say time heals; I hope they’re right.
Looking for a great writers website? Check out http://onewildword.com. If your inbox is like mine it’s bombarded with how-to emails every day. I don’t have time to read them all. Some I delete after a quick glance. Not so with One Wild Word. There is always a nugget worth my time. Here is one such blog. Thanks for the reminderCarly Sandifer. Enjoy!
Writing dialogue is more than just putting words in your characters’ mouths. Try listening to your characters and find out what they have to say to tell the story. By using this practice of listening, you may find unexpected meaning and your story may go in surprising but satisfying directions.Here are six tips for writing dialogue:Show instead of tell. Craft dialogue that shows feelings instead of specifically stating how the characters feel. Whenever you start to use the word “felt,” stop and see how you can show that emotion through dialogue instead of telling the reader how your character felt. This showing technique will put the reader squarely in the action.Advance the story’s meaning with descriptions of character movement and body language. Show how characters gesture, sit, stand or move around as they talk and how their body language mirrors inner emotions.Don’t let your characters directly answer each others’ questions. A more indirect approach hints at the story below the surface and adds depth.Show natural patterns of speech. People speak in rhythms and sometimes interrupt each other in conversation. Also, avoid speech that is too perfect or stilted. If you’re showing a range of emotions in dialogue, the speech patterns should match the emotion.Know your characters’ speech style. Set characters apart in the reader’s mind by using unique vocabulary and speech patterns.Make your dialogue fulfill multiple goals. Dialogue should advance the story and can do that by foreshadowing, creating suspense, and establishing the characters’ personalities.For more dialogue writing ideas, read my previous post, Seven tips for designing meaningful dialogue and Carol’s post, Dialogue tips I learned from reading Elmore Leonard.
Jean's Writing 