"Writing Tips & Tricks" is a Popular Search Phrase
And there’s plenty of advice to be had:
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I tried it this morning and got
52,400,000 hits. Even AI had something to say on
the subject—quite a bit, actually. But have you ever tried a dialogue sprint?
I’ve Been Using Dialogue Sprints for a While Now
I didn’t intend to do it or think
it through in advance. It just happened, mainly because I’m impatient. Stopping
to add dialogue tags or action beats slows me down. Thinking about grounding
the reader in setting breaks my train of thought.
What is a Dialogue Sprint?
Simply put, a dialogue sprint means
quickly typing out a conversation between, say, two or three people, using only
the actual words spoken.
Here’s a brief example from my WIP,
just a snippet.
Three women are having a
conversation in an English village tearoom. Kate Hamilton (my sleuth) is
sitting at a table with Jilly Steele and Daisy Hogg, two elderly villagers who
knew a curmudgeonly old woman (Lovie) who died under mysterious circumstances:
THE SPRINT:
“Mr.
Tweedy and I will be back on Monday to begin our inventory. Today I’m here to
find out what I can about Lovie.”
“Whatever
for? I can tell you what you need to know. She was mad. But so are lots of us,
come to think of it.”
“What
do you want to know?”
“I told
you, dear, remember? She wants to know if Lovie ever had a child.”
“You
mean a baby? The last time that happened, a star appeared in the east,
and three wise men showed up.”
“Lovie
wasn’t interested in men?”
“She
wasn’t interested in people. If you didn’t have whiskers and claws,
Lovie had no time for you.”
THE FINISHED PRODUCT:
“Mr. Tweedy and I will be back on
Monday to begin our inventory,” I said. “Today I’m here to find out what I can
about Lovie.”
“Whatever
for?” Jilly asked. “I can tell you what you need to know. She was mad.” She
cackled. “But so are lots of us, come to think of it.”
The
apron-clad waitress arrived. “What’ll it be, ladies?” She hadn’t offered menus.
I looked around unsuccessfully for a chalkboard. The tea shop obviously catered
to locals.
“We’ll
have the Calico Kitten as usual,” Daisy said. “China tea. Plenty of
honey.”
“Same
thing for me,” I said, seeing no benefit in creating a fuss.
“All
right.” Jilly spread a snowy white napkin on her lap. “What do you want to
know?”
“I told
you, dear, remember?” Daisy said. “She wants to know if Lovie ever had a
child.”
“You
mean a baby?” Jilly snorted. “The last time that happened, a star
appeared in the east, and three wise men showed up.”
“Lovie
wasn’t interested in men?”
“She
wasn’t interested in people,” Daisy said. “If you didn’t have whiskers and
claws, Lovie had no time for you.”
Six Ways a Dialogue Sprint Can Help
1. Speeds up my writing (I’m a
perfectionist)
2. Gives me something to improve (which
I love)
3. Helps me see inconsistencies in
logic
4. Reveals character in a subliminal
way
5. Helps me control pacing
6. Suggests plot points I hadn’t
thought of before
Will a Dialogue Sprint Work for You?
No idea. Every
brain works in a unique way. But after you’ve tried the other 52 million tips
and tricks, maybe you’ll give dialogue sprints a go.
If you do, let me know how it works
out.
You describe exactly what I've been doing when writing for the podcast Mysteries to Die For. Since the stories come out first in podcast-form (an anthology is published later) there a rno visual clues we're accustomed to rea without even thinking about it. New paragraphs, quotation marks, etc. To avoid confusion, very bit of dialog needs an attribution. Now I have a name for it!
ReplyDeleteYikes! When will I learn proofread better and to not be so quick to hit send? It should be "Not visual clues" (don't ask me where the "r" came from,) "we're accustomed to read," and "every bit of dialog," not "very bit of dialog." Maybe I need a new keyboard? Surely couldn't be me before I had my coffee.
ReplyDeleteI've revised two stories for podcast and print Mysteries to Die For. It's tricky, dialogues overloaded with attribution tags. I read the entire story to my dogs several times to make sure it was logical and credible.
ReplyDeleteI "dialogue storm" all the time, taking what's in my head and scribbling it down. I later insert it in my ms. with all the necessary setting and body language and deep third POV.