Sunday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

LET’S TALK ABOUT DIALOGUE

By: Art Holcomb

Here is a truth about human beings . . .

Before there was writing, there was talking.

Dialogue is the most trusted and most human aspect of story. Sure, we love the action and the conflict, but what we seek in a story in order to make it real for us is what the characters actually say to each other. We often skip to that part in a novel because we find it the most relate-able part of any story. It’s what we most naturally connect with.

Dialogue is the vital part of every narrative.

Without it, all you have is description.

As a writing instructor, I spend an extensive amount of time going over the dialogue in my students’ work. . . . Because dialogue IS tough.

Common questions are:

• “How do I make it sound less like writing and more like talking?”
• “How do I decide what needs to be said and when?”
• “How do I manage the subtext?”
• “Is dialogue where I put in all the exposition?”

What’s important to note is that these are all issues which plague writers at every level. Getting the dialogue just right is the difference between a story that grips the reader and one that gives them a reason to lose interest and slip away.

But exactly what is dialogue’s role?

Let’s start with what I think is the single most important tool you can have on the subject:

The Purpose of Dialogue is not to TELL the story.

. . .

Read the full article HERE!

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If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets yesterday, here they are again:

• Radical revision: blow up and rebuild your novel – BookBaby http://ow.ly/Oza6d
• Let's Talk About Dialogue - Storyfix.com http://ow.ly/OzfHY
• How to Self-Edit Infographic | Now Novel http://ow.ly/OzfJY
• Fiction University: Real Life Diagnostics: Does This Set Up an Intriguing Story Line? http://ow.ly/OzfTe
• New: The Book Launch Toolkit, A Boon for Self-Published Authors — The Book Designer http://ow.ly/OzgZF
• Pinterest Search Gets Smarter: This Week in Social Media Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/OzhTs
• 72% of Writers Struggle With THIS http://ow.ly/OzhWE
• Writer Unboxed » How to Blurb Someone’s Book http://ow.ly/OzO9l
• Gaming, Writing And Collaboration With Nathan Meunier | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/OzOdE
• Writing When It's Difficult to Write - Elizabeth Spann Craig http://ow.ly/OzOrc

Happy writing and running, Kathy