I've been working on a short story for a long time and I find myself leaning toward long passages of introspection mixed with equally extensive passages of verbal exchanges. The story is about the relationship between a potentially-homosexual asexual and an omnivorously-sexual bi. I'd be more than happy to post an example of the dialogue in the Share section (I haven't posted anything in three months, amazingly and blessedly, depending on how you look at it). The first scene is an intricate conversation about asexuality on a bus for the mentally-handicapped. Characters rarely get a chance to converse, to interact in a story. There must be introspection, yes, but can't there also be places for interesting, joyously rambling, independent movie-esque dialogues? Thanks for any thoughts in advance. Much love:kiss
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Maryn
Is It Necessary?
My self-imposed rule for whether a particular bit of dialogue really belongs in my manuscript is whether it's necessary.
Dialogue can give the reader information known to the character who's talking. It can show relationships between the characters. It can develop character.
If a good bit of banter doesn't do one of those things, I have to consider that despite my cleverness, it probably needs to be moved to the deletions file, hoping to earn a place in a future work.
Be aware that in your particular writing situation, it's unlikely that any realistic character (much less two who are presumably sober) would talk very openly about sex. (Or money, for that matter.) :ssh
To make it seem real, you may need to have them talk all around what they're trying to say, without ever saying it. Tough to write, but wonderful when done well.
Maryn
My self-imposed rule for whether a particular bit of dialogue really belongs in my manuscript is whether it's necessary.
Dialogue can give the reader information known to the character who's talking. It can show relationships between the characters. It can develop character.
If a good bit of banter doesn't do one of those things, I have to consider that despite my cleverness, it probably needs to be moved to the deletions file, hoping to earn a place in a future work.
Be aware that in your particular writing situation, it's unlikely that any realistic character (much less two who are presumably sober) would talk very openly about sex. (Or money, for that matter.) :ssh
To make it seem real, you may need to have them talk all around what they're trying to say, without ever saying it. Tough to write, but wonderful when done well.
Maryn
William Blake Bradbury
I think you may have lived a very sheltered life.
I am an asexual/suppressed homosexual who dated an omnivorously-sexual bi. She tried to date-rape me twice and we broke up after a situation involving me, my gay, nudist psychology professor and a London hotel room:wha
I am an asexual/suppressed homosexual who dated an omnivorously-sexual bi. She tried to date-rape me twice and we broke up after a situation involving me, my gay, nudist psychology professor and a London hotel room:wha
MThomas2003
Now there's a story!
To reiterate what Maryn said, I think it's fine to use banter in a story, as long as the banter is meaningful. That is, that it moves the story forward toward some goal. "Chit-chat" probably wouldn't be meaningful, unless it was later revealed that within that chit-chat was some clue to greater understanding. That, of course, would require that the reader was able to divulge the clues later on. If the story is based on your personal experience, I would suggest using what material is going to keep the reader reading, not necessarily a recap of all the conversations you remember. I've found the most intriguing dialogue to be that which skilfully reveals what the characters *aren't* saying out loud. Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is a nice example of this. I found it online here, in case you haven't read it: Hills Like White Elephants
Best of luck with the story!
To reiterate what Maryn said, I think it's fine to use banter in a story, as long as the banter is meaningful. That is, that it moves the story forward toward some goal. "Chit-chat" probably wouldn't be meaningful, unless it was later revealed that within that chit-chat was some clue to greater understanding. That, of course, would require that the reader was able to divulge the clues later on. If the story is based on your personal experience, I would suggest using what material is going to keep the reader reading, not necessarily a recap of all the conversations you remember. I've found the most intriguing dialogue to be that which skilfully reveals what the characters *aren't* saying out loud. Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is a nice example of this. I found it online here, in case you haven't read it: Hills Like White Elephants
Best of luck with the story!
Jamesaritchie
Re: Now there's a story!
Hills Like White Elephants is an example of good dialogue, and a perfect example of Dramatic viewpoint, something that doesn't get talked about nearly enough. It's odd how few writers seem to know what dramatic viewpoint is these days.
Hills Like White Elephants is an example of good dialogue, and a perfect example of Dramatic viewpoint, something that doesn't get talked about nearly enough. It's odd how few writers seem to know what dramatic viewpoint is these days.
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