Sometimes when we write, we have experience a bombardment of images that we want to get out on the page. When that happens, writing usually flows well. We click along, pouring out everything that\u2019s in our heads. We\u2019re so in tune with the viewpoint character (VPC) that we see and experience the things they are, and can convey them readily interspersing dialogue with perceptions and feelings as experienced by that VPC.<\/p>\n
Other times, we have a scene in mind where all that can come to us is the dialogue. We know the scene is necessary to move the plot forward, but we just can\u2019t seem to grasp the setting. So, what do we do? Here\u2019s a trick. Write the scene with dialogue only. Don\u2019t even worry about who your VPC is going to be. When the scene is \u201ccomplete,\u201d go back and flesh it out, deciding then who your VPC will be. (Remember, your VPC should be the person who has the most to lose. They will bring the most emotional baggage to the scene and will be most engaging to the reader.) Here\u2019s a short example.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d Jane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, sure you don\u2019t,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you where I was.\u201d Jane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to try telling me the truth now?\u201d John said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re accusing me of lying? What about you?\u201d Jane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never lied to you.\u201d John said.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d Jane said.<\/p>\n
Now, this is clearly an argument, but it\u2019s devoid of any context. What are Jane and John arguing about? Why? Who\u2019s really lying?…and the story \u2013killing question: Who cares?<\/p>\n
Next, I\u2019m going to decide where this conversation takes place. Giving the reader that information alone will put a different context to the scene. Think of what automatic ideas come to mind if I choose one of the following:<\/p>\n
A park next to a playground where children are playing.
A diner on the outskirts of town
An upscale restaurant with crystal chandeliers lighting the atmosphere, and people dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos.
John\u2019s living room.
Jane\u2019s living room.
John and Jane\u2019s living room.<\/p>\n
How will the tone of the dialogue change based on these settings? What interruptions can\/will\/need to occur? Is the writer in you already working out all these things just based on that?<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve chosen the setting, now think about who has the most to lose. (You\u2019ll know this based on the rest of your story.) Then continue to flesh out the scene. First by replacing the he said\/she said with some action beats, then with more that will make the setting come alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what you\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was she really going to play that game? He leaned across the table. \u201cOh, sure you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you where I was.\u201d Her voice squeaked, and the couple at the table next to them turned to gape.<\/p>\n
He gave them an apologetic smile and then turned back to Jane. \u201cYou want to try telling me the truth now?\u201d He took a deep breath and willed his heartbeat to slow. He\u2019d seen her going into the hospital. He knew she was there.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you\u2019re accusing me of lying? What about you?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her words hit him hard, and for a moment, response eluded him. \u201cI\u2019ve never lied to you.\u201d He dropped his gaze to the cold steamed carrots on his plate. Not exactly, anyway.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chair legs scraping across the marble tile sounded like the ominous cock of a gun, each click of her heel bullets to his heart.<\/p>\n
From simple dialogue, we can flesh out a scene. Now we know whose point of view we\u2019re in. We know the setting, and we know that both John and Jane are hiding something. This technique may help you figure out where a scene needs to go, and it may also help unblock writers block if you\u2019re experiencing that, making it easier to push through a scene you may be uncertain about. Remember, the idea is to get that first draft down on paper. Perfection happens later. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sometimes when we write, we have experience a bombardment of images that we want to get out on the page. When that happens, writing usually flows well. We click along, pouring out everything that\u2019s in our heads. We\u2019re so in tune with the viewpoint character (VPC) that we see and experience the things they are, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[504],"tags":[8,23],"class_list":["post-625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editing-writing-advice","tag-writing-how-to","tag-writing-tips"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pelicanbookgroup.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}