maelorin: (sigh)
posted by [personal profile] maelorin at 12:17pm on 11/09/2007
i have been told i should write more. that i am a writer, not should be ...

just, i can't do dialogue so much.
 
posted by [identity profile] reverancepavane.livejournal.com at 03:52pm on 12/09/2007
The trick is to hide stuff you are not good at. If you can't write dialogue then don't write dialogue.

My problem with dialogue is that I get too involved in the conversation and end up writing a screenplay rather than a story. [I say screenplay because when I write plays I tend to write something rather different. Too much Tom Stoppard, The Bard, and Nigel Triffith in my formative years.]

So rather than writing dialogue try writing without it. Use cut scenes and the like to end wandering exposition. Remember to avoid the teacher's disease and therefore don't attempt to explain everything. Just because you have a fully-functioning world in your head and notes doesn't mean that you have to show every detail in the story. Leave that for the inevitable RPG supplement. <grin>

Try more short forms than a novel. The market is smaller but they are good practice because they are simpler (as they generally revolve around a single idea), and harder (in that it is easy to write verbosely but much harder to write concisely).

You have a good turn of phrase. This helps.

maelorin: (i see no problem here)
posted by [personal profile] maelorin at 11:19am on 13/09/2007
i'm sketching out a collection of short stories, i think. easy isn't the point. practice and immersion is the name of this game.

i need to get hold of a copy of gaiman's latest collection me thinks.

i'm also contemplating tracking down copies of certain author's musings on their art. the first part being to recall who's written decent stuff about their writing. not for 'guidance' as such, but to get my head into the right place.

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