Dialogue

Two people talking in fiction isn't the same thing as two people talking in real life. Dialogue in fiction sounds like normal speech but with the filler distilled out--no "ums" or "ahs," not too many "likes" or "uh huhs" or "how are yas,"precious little repetition. Like description, dialogue always serves a purpose. It reveals character or relationships between characters, provides exposition, punctuates the action, and moves the plot along. Dialogue is natural; it's how people talk. It's true to the point of view of the character who is speaking and doesn't leap outside her head.

Here are some basic things to remember about dialogue:

• Provide a tag the first time character speaks, usually after the first phrase or clause.


• Use mainly "he said/she said" and avoid yelling, screaming, shrieking, and so on. Let the actual talk do the work, not the tag.


• Avoid excessive use of adverbs. If your character says something loudly, you probably have to to back to what she said and make it more emphatic.


• Don't have two characters who are speaking face-to-face call each other by their names, unless the situation warrants it.


• Use the present tense.
  
• Don't throw in a lot of foreign words or expressions.
  
• Use profanity only where it makes sense for your character.
  
• Try to keep conversations between your characters short and sweet.


• Read your dialogue out loud to make sure it sounds natural.

Here are some usage rules for dialogue:

• All dialogue should be set off by quotation marks. Commas, periods, question marks go inside quotation marks. If a speaker talks for more than a paragraph, leave off the final quote marks at the end of the first paragraph but include them at the beginning of the second paragraph and at the conclusion of the speech.


• Start a new paragraph each time you change speakers.


• Try not to run dialogue into paragraphs that contain long descriptions. Brief gestures, especially if they identify the speaker can work well, though.


• During long stretches of dialogue, identify the speaker every 5-6 lines.
  
• Tag each line of dialogue when three or more people are talking.


• Use single quote marks when one speaker quotes another.


• Use ellipses to indicate an incomplete thought and dashes to indicate and interrupted thought.

Some Target Markets for Your Work:

With thanks to Tamara, Romona, and Scott--

For historical crime fiction, visit Mortalis, an imprint of Random House.

For literary fiction, Amy Einhorn, an imprint of Putnam, is receptive to new writers.

The Tin House Quarterly accepts literary fiction from new writers.

For mystery fiction, go to Poisoned Pen Press or Three Rivers Press.

Reminders:

• Don't forget to bring your completed course evaluations with you to class next week. I'll be collecting them at the beginning of the hour.


• All work (assignment 5 and any remaining long pieces) is due at 10PM on Friday, March 12 in Word 03 format. Send copies of assignment 5 to the people in your group. No late papers will be accepted this week. I'll return your assignments to you on Sunday, as usual, and the manuscripts by class time on Monday.
  
• This is your last chance to take the writing challenges--each person gets one comment per week--to compete for the top three prizes.


• Don't forget to bring your 5-minute excerpt to read to the class.

This Week's Challenge:

Alfred Hitchcock said a good story is "life with the dull parts taken out." The same is true of good dialogue. The following exchange is stilted and generic. Keeping in mind what we talked about in class, how would you improve it?

"What happened to you, Ed?" George asked.

"Well, George," Ed said. "I was walking down the street, and a man came up to me. I said to him, 'What seems to be the difficulty?' He replied, 'You owe me a hundred dollars.' But I didn't. And then he hit me."

See you next Monday.

More Fundamentals of Publishing

As all of you demonstrated last night, you know where and how to look for markets for your work. You can

• Identify authors with work similar to your own.
• Look to see who published their work.
• Check the acknowledgements pages for names of agents and editors.
• Look for presses, magazines, and journals seeking writers in your genre.
• Single out target markets for new writers.
• Talk to writers you know or meet in classes and conferences.
• Be unafraid to ask questions.

You can also look at the following books:

• The Writer's Market
• Guide to Literary Agents
• The Novel and Short Story Writer's Market
• Jeff Herman's Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents
• Complete Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, Sheree Bykovsky

And links:

• Writer's Market
• Association of Author's Representatives
• Predators and Editors
• Writer's Digest
• Fiction Magazines
• Literary Magazines

After you've compiled a list of potential markets, don't let your fear of rejection stop you. Rejection is something ALL writers live with. Remember, when you get turned down...

• Let yourself feel bad, but only for a little while.
• Think about what constitutes success. In Major League Baseball, the batters with the highest averages fail two thirds of the time. In basketball, the best three-point shooters fail sixty percent of the time.
• Always have a Plan B. That way, when Plan A doesn't pan out, you'll know what to do next.

Rejection is there. Be prepared. It's what you do afterwards that really counts.

Description

Your next assignment is to choose a passage in your work involving two people and some action and describe it using the techniques we discussed in class. The last assignment will be to rewrite this descriptive passage as dialogue (2 assignments on the same piece of writing), so make your selection carefully.

Here are some basics:

• Use description to help your reader visualize people, places, action.
• Practice showing rather than telling.
• Make sure your description moves the story along.
• Employ description to add to characterization.
• Avoid using description as filler.

Good description is

• Specific
• Well-observed (those five senses again)
• Revelatory of the character's inner life
• Consistent in its point of view
• Properly placed within the narrative
• Best delivered in small strategic chunks

When in doubt, leave it out.

Some Reminders:

• Please send me the publication information you shared last night so that I can post it on next week's blog.
• Assignment 4 (300-500 words) is due Friday, March 5 at 10PM. Don't forget to email copies (in Word 03 format) to the members of your group.
• For those of you turning in your ONE long piece (10 pages maximum), the due date is Friday, March 5 at 10PM. I'll return your manuscripts to you later next week.
• As I announced last night, for the final session, I'll be asking each of you to read to the class an excerpt (5 minutes) of your writing. You can sign up for that next Monday. I urge you all to participate, since this will be good practice for you, Once you're published, reading your work is standard operating procedure. So get started now.

This Week's Challenge:

We talked about how difficult describing the sense of smell can be. Almost always, it's not done directly but through analogy to something familiar. So...

Identify your favorite dessert and use two or three similes (employs "like" or "as") or metaphors (doesn't) to describe it.

Have a great week.