5 Key Objectives of Dialogue

The online course on writing for children that I'm taking included a module on dialogue. This is an area of weakness for me. I'm not a big talker and as a result, neither are my characters.

According to Nancy Lamb in The Writer's Guide to Crafting Stories for Children, good dialogue should achieve the following:

1. Reveal Character - your character's personality will show if they speak casually or stiffly.
2. Create an Authentic Voice - you know you've captured your characters' voices perfectly when they can carry on a conversation without identity tags (Peter said, Sheila pointed out). Catch phrases can help.
3. Avoid Trendy Slang - but surely you want to capture the current lingo of teens so they will relate? Truth is, it will quickly date your novel, teen talk evolves at such a rate that by the time your book is published and release it will seem  like you are are out of touch or a 'try-hard' (which is probably an outdated term by now).
4. Be Distinctive - you might have a group of teen girls all from the same small town, but if they all speak to similarly, your reader will get confused between them. Make all your characters individual.
5. Create action - instead of creating long expositions, break up dialogue with action in the dialogue tags. Have a character speak wringing their hands, or pacing up and down.

I've added this book to my library and am really loving it. It outlines all aspects of writing children's stories in a simple, accessible language.

Our assignment for the course was to submit a piece showing dialogue of a main character meeting someone for the first time. I'll share my example, but it did lack one key element... actual dialogue.

Justin trudged down the steps to the subway. Sleep, lots of sleep. Except his olds will probably wake him and be on his case about staying out late, wasting his life, whatever. As if he hadn’t had a crap enough night already. Sally ditched him for that muscle jerk. 5 weeks of relationship obviously meant nothing to her.

“Big night?”

Justin looked to his left to see a woman in a suit with jet-black hair.

“Saw you at Mulligan’s earlier didn’t I? Kate Simons,” The woman said.

The lights of the train came in from the right. Justin shifted from one foot to the other. Was he being picked up?

“Justin,” he said, not sure if he should offer his hand.

Where was Sally? Maybe she realised she’d made a mistake. Maybe she was sorry. Justin pulled his phone from his coat pocket. No missed calls. He shoved it back in.

The train slowed as it pulled in.

Kate Simons was now standing right in front of Justin and placed her hands on his shoulders.

Stuff Sally. Justin smiled at Kate.

The doors opened. Kate roughly shoved Justin back away from the doors and spun around.

“Hey!” Justin said as two big guys stepped out of the carriage. All three ignored him.

“Simons,” Number one big guy said.

Number two big guy opened his jacket to give Kate a glimpse of his gun.

“Wha?” Justin stepped back in confusion. Before he could work out what was going on, Kate leapt forward and punched number one big guy right in the throat. He gasped and gurgled while Kate swept around and kicked number two big guy’s feet from under him. She elbowed his thick skull as he went down.

“Wha?” Justin said.

Two more big guys came down the steps with their guns pointed.

“Justin down!” Kate said.

“Wha?” Justin started, but with the first bullet whizzing by him, he dove to the ground.

Kate dove down too, but only to grab the gun from the holster of number two big guy and spin to shoot both men. They tumbled down the stairs.

The train doors closed.

A whole group of big guys with guns started down the stairs.

“Crap!” Justin said. He jumped up and ran to the train doors. They wouldn’t open!

Justin looked around panicked as the train pulled away from him. As Kate and the new big guys exchanged fire, Justin said, “This is a bad idea.” With a lack of options, he sprang onto the back of the train, clinging to the window washer.

He held his hand out, “Kate!”

She turned and winked, but made no effort to join him.

Justin watched as Kate cheerfully waved to him while shooting it out with the new big guys. Dumbfounded, Justin waved back. The train turned the bend and she was out of sight.

Justin breathed. Then, a buzz in his pocket. Sally? Justin reached for his phone, only, it wasn’t his? He looked at the screen.

Justin, We need to meet up. Simons.

How do you handle dialogue?

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First 250 Words Blogfest

During a happy blog hopping session, I came across this neat blogfest: Post the first 250 words to your WIP. You'll find the links to lots of WIP beginnings at Elle Strauss. This was meant to be posted yesterday, but I couldn't help giving it a go too :-)

Chapter One of Dog Show Detective:

Spade danced around Kitty’s feet, his enthusiasm showing he sensed a great adventure ahead. But then again, Spade sensed great adventures everyday.

Kitty wiped her palms on her crisp navy skirt for the third time, then she adjusted her black velvet headband for the fifth time.

“Quit fidgeting Kitty, you’ll be fine.” Mrs Walker looked up from her copy of ‘Dog Show World’.

Around Kitty’s ankles the black and silver dog jumped, turned and jiggled his behind.

“Maybe I should take Spade for a walk.”

Spade yapped enthusiastically and his short tail wiggled even faster.

Mrs Walker folded her magazine, placed it beside her fold-out chair and reached for Spade’s leash. “Good idea, a walk might calm you both down.”

Another mention of the word ‘walk’ did nothing to calm Spade. “Rup, rupt!”

Kitty furrowed her young brow. “He better calm down before the Junior Handlers comp. I’m not taking him in the ring like this.”

After snapping the leash to Spade’s collar, Mrs Walker pulled a brush out of her bag.

“Mum, I’ll brush him after our walk.”

“This is not Spade’s brush, it’s yours. You’ve fiddled with your hair so much you’ve mussed it all up, now turn around.” Mrs Walker started to rake the brush through Kitty’s straight, but tousled, honey hair.

“Mum, I can do it!” Kitty hoped none of the other juniors would spot her getting her hair brushed by her mother.

 The chapter goes on to have Kitty find a small lost dog on her walk which sets off the mystery - but perhaps I should be starting with the finding...  do you think I need a stronger opening hook? Will you be posting your opening? 

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Conquering Writer's Block and Summoning Inspiration

I'm very excited today! Why? Because I'm hosting my first-ever author interview! Featured today, we have K. M. Weiland, author of the recently released Conquering Writer's Block and Summoning Inspiration.

When did you first feel like a ‘real’ writer?

In some ways, that’s a trick question! I came to published writing through the back door, so for most of my writing life, publication wasn’t the sought-after validation it is for most writers. I wrote because I loved it and was reasonably proficient at it, and that was always good enough for me. But when I did decide to pursue publication, I suddenly entered a brand new world of trepidation, frustration, and insecurity. Mostly, it’s an up-and-down roller coaster, even now that I have two books published. If I had to put a date on my validation as a writer, it would probably be the publication of my second novel Behold the Dawn (http://www.kmweiland.com/books_BTD.php) and its overwhelmingly encouraging reception by readers.

What, for you, is the hardest part of writing a novel?

The beginning, no bones about it. Even though I’m an in-depth outliner and always know what’s supposed to happen at every step of the story, the first fifty pages are murder to write. I have enough perfectionist blood in my veins that I have to get it right before moving on, and as most authors know, beginnings are always tough to get right, if only because they are so important.

How long has it taken you to produce a finished novel?

As a general rule, a novel—from outline to publication—takes me three to four years. I usually plan a year for brainstorming, outlining, and researching; a year for writing; and another year or two for editing. I’m much more interested in spending the time to perfect a story, rather than churning one out every year.

Do you have a writing style or genre?

Technically, I write historical and speculative fiction, but most of my stories seem to fall into what I laughingly call the “blood and thunder” genre. All of my published stories have centered around a war (land wars in A Man Called Outlaw (http://www.kmweiland.com/books_AMCO.php), the Third Crusade in Behold the Dawn, a fictional conflict in my upcoming fantasy Dreamers (http://www.kmweiland.com/WIPs.php#dreamers), and World War I in my work-in-progress The Deepest Breath (http://www.kmweiland.com/WIPs.php#deepest). They’re usually stories of good vs. evil, with lots of swashbuckling and a little romance thrown in.

What inspired you to write Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration?

Over the last several years, I’ve been sharing writing tips and essays about the writing life on my blog Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors (http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com). Posts on inspiration and fighting writer’s block have always been some of my most popular posts. It’s ironic, really: Here we are, a bunch of people who discovered this whole writing business because one day we woke up inspired with an idea for a story—and yet consistent inspiration is something most of us struggle with on almost a daily basis. I wanted to put together a presentation that shared some of my own tricks for encouraging inspiration. Thanks to the Wordplay podcast, I already had some experience with audio productions and thought it would be an interesting adventure to create a CD that would be accessible and helpful to others.

Who would benefit from Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration?

If you’ve ever sat down at your computer and stared at the cursor—or avoided sitting down at the computer so you didn’t have to look at that infernal blank page—then you will probably relate to what I discuss in the CD. Basically, Conquering Writer’s Block is aimed at writers who want to nurture a creative lifestyle, prevent writer’s block from ever attacking, and learn how to ward it off when it does appear.

Can you download it to your iPod?

Absolutely! You can either purchase the hardcopy (http://www.kmweiland.com/books_CWBASI.php) or download the tracks (http://www.kmweiland.com/store.php#conquering).

Could you share one pearl of wisdom from your current Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration?

On my blog, I often talk about how “variety is the spice of fiction.” That applies to how writers approach their craft just as much as the words and techniques they put on the page. Some of us (myself included) thrive on routine and schedules. But the muse is a free-spirited critter, and changing up our routine a little can sometimes works wonders in boosting creativity. Find a new writing spot—under a tree, at a café, in the backseat of the car. If you write on the computer, try writing longhand. If you always listen to Mozart when writing, try something radically different such as metal or bluegrass. Adding a little change to our routines can shake our snoozing creativity awake, even if we eventually decide to go back to the old habits.

What have you read lately that you simply must recommend?

Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn is the first fiction book in ages that I’ve awarded a five-star rating. It was lip-smackingly good: great characters, great setting, great premise. I loved it. At the moment, I’m just finishing up Margaret Atwood’s The Robber Bride, and I’m blown away by the depth and power of her writing. The woman is a genius. She not only gave me a great story, she inspired me to greater heights in my own writing.

I hope you've enjoyed this interview with K M Weiland! I know I've learned a lot, and am eagerly awaiting my CD from Amazon to put on my handy-dandy iPod (I can't download MP3s from Amazon because I'm in Australia), I'll blog about the CD once I've heard all the great advice. If you'd like to know more about this author, you could visit her blog:

K.M. Weiland writes historical and speculative fiction from her home in the sandhills of western Nebraska. She enjoys mentoring other authors through her writing tips, editing services, workshops, and her recently released instructional CD Conquering Writer’s Block and Summoning Inspiration.

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Kate Forsyth - Writing for Children

At the recent CYA Writers Conference, Kate Forsyth provided so much insight and advice in her talk, I could have used a whole week with her to absorb it all.

Kate writes for children and adults and is well known for her fantasy work such as The Gypsy Crown.

The advice Kate offered that resonated with me the most was about writing specifically for children:

Writing for children is often harder than writing for adults.

• Children are less forgiving. Adults might read past a dragging chapter in hopes the story pace will return. Children will easily abandon a book mid-story if it does not meet their expectations.
• Novels and novellas for children do not have room for sloppy writing. Every word must work as hard as it can, no unnecessary words or sentences.
• Adults read for many reasons - to keep abreast of literary trends, to learn or understand and to enjoy. Kids read for pleasure. That's it.

What do children want in their stories?

• Distinct characters. Would you recognise your character in a crowd if you were on the bus with them? You would if they were Peter Pan, Harry Potter, Pippy Longstocking or Huck Finn.
• Suspense and surprise - secret enemies can help build these elements.
• Action! Begin with drama, activity, danger or movement.
• A protagonist at least 12 months older than themselves. Kids read up, they don't usually like reading about younger kids.
• Emotional engagement. Kids want to CARE if something happens to the main character or their friends.

Like to know more about Kate Forsyth? Check out her website, it's filled with great information for fans and writers:

http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/

Stay tuned! On the 14th I will be featuring an interview with writer K.M. Weiland about her new release:

Conquering Writers Block and Summoning Inspiration. To find out more about K.M. Weiland, visit her blog: Wordplay

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NaNoWriMo Fever!

It's the most, wonderful time of the year....

Last year I discovered NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) for the first time and became immediately obsessed with writing 50,000 words in one month. I'll be Nanoing again this year and fingers crossed I'll get a whole novel written in November.

There's no cheating allowed - which means in October I can't write a word towards my story, but I can start plotting and planning. My novel idea for this year:

Digging up Death

Dusty Fields is a palaeontologist student who has the gift of seeing how creatures died when she touches their remains. Handy for work, but something she keeps a secret from a judgemental world. Dusty avoids all but prehistoric death, until she comes across a colleague's body at her dig site and must help an infuriatingly dense detective solve the crime without revealing her 'gift'.

I've got the whole family joining in. Last year Matilda and Emily both wrote novellas (kids get to choose the wordcount they will aim for). This year we're trying to entice Tim to join in too. All through October our family has little workshops, this week we're focusing on plotting and story ideas.

Using John and Caitlin Mathews StoryWorld cards, we experimented with coming up with new story ideas. This pack of cards includes many fantasy and traditional fairytale characters, objects and settings along with a book to show different ways they could be used.

Our aim was to deal out two character cards, one object and one setting. Then we each came up with different ideas. You could also use tarot cards or print up archetype characters and draw them out of a hat to do this.

I can also use these cards in the classroom for creative writing, they are so beautiful the kids just love them. Here's a sample:

There were some pretty interesting ideas, including a murder mystery in fairyland! You can buddy me at NaNoWriMo and see what the month of crazy brings.

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My Top 8 Posts on Character Building

I've been focused on characters lately, so thought I would share my posts on building characters, here are my top 8:

1. James Baldwin and Character Who-ness - Forget about what your characters are, find out 'who' they are. What makes them special?
2. Building Characters with Jung - If you like a more formulaic approach to creating characters, check out Jung's archetypes. There's so many combinations, you can create a unique character with purpose.
3. M is the Motive - The key to a good story is to find out what your character desires and what's stopping them from getting it.
4. Lousy Characters Rule - Allens lollies tagged the line 'Why do we always like the snakes best?', and it's true, we love a bit of bad boy in our good guy.
5. Character Profiles - Questionnaire for your character (free print out)
6. Prue Mason - Character to Plot Workshop - If the cap fits... how to get into the 'shoes' of your character.
7. Creating Character Flaws - Don't make your character perfect at everything unless you're planning on dropping a piano on their head early in the story.
8. Character Voice - Let your character come up with their own description.

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Character Voice

Can you hear your character's voice?

This week in my writing course through Sydney Writers' Centre, we further explored character and voice. 

The main point about your main character is they must be someone we like reading about. Your main character will need depth, they can not only exist in reaction to one situation. One way of building your character to a fully formed personality is to fill in a checklist. 

You should include physical descriptions, beliefs/attitudes to the world around them, personality, background, hopes, relationships, pets and environment. It is also handy to know what your character's skills are and what they are really bad at, or afraid of (these can be used in your plot as obstacles and solutions).

By knowing your character well before writing you are more likely to have a consistent character that the readers can believe in.

Our assignment was to have our character write their own autobiography as 'getting to know you' class homework. There were some fantastic responses. It's a great exercise because once you start, it's interesting to see how your characters will describe themselves very differently to the way you would. There may even be important information they choose to conceal. 

Here was my submission (even though I can already see things I'd like to change!):

Who am I? Harry Conner. I’m 13. I live in Warracknabeal, but you would know that Miss, because you live here too. What sort of things do I like to do? You might think there’s not much to do in a country town like this, after coming down from Sydney, but there's a swimming pool (I prefer the river - we’ve got a great rope swing) and a cinema (‘The Thin Man’ is showing if you like mysteries, I do).

I’ve got my mum’s red hair and I follow Essendon, like she does. We didn’t make it into the grand final last year but I think 1939 will be the year for us! You might find it funny but my father doesn’t like football (or anything fun). You probably already know that he’s the sergeant of police here in town. He is so different from my mum, she would have laughed at the prank me and the boys pulled last Saturday, but Dad got mad as a cut snake! See Brian, Duncan, Weedy and me were taking pot shots at chickens with my slingshot, when I had this idea. Old Mr Harrison’s funeral was on, so we snuck into the church beforehand and put this chicken in the casket with him. You should’ve seen Father Barry’s face when he heard scratching noises coming from the coffin!

We live in town, a few of my mates live out on properties like my granddad does, he’s the president of the club at the racetrack. He says I have his charm. Dad and him don’t get on real well.

My best friend is Clancy, my dog. When he was a pup he belonged to Mr Mulligan, but then Mr Mulligan shot his brains out when he lost his job at the silo (maybe he didn’t realise the Great Depression’s over Miss?). Now he’s my dog and he’s great, even if the oldies in town look at him as if he’s cursed (not Smithy at the butchery, he’s always got bones for Clancy).

My goal? I’m going to become a detective, like Sam Spade, and then I’ll find out what happened to Mum when she didn’t come back from the supermarket two years ago. I will, and I’ll bring her home.

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