ci5_boxoftricks | Weekly check in post!

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Weekly check in post!

Hey everyone and welcome to the weekly check in.

One of the things I love the most about the show is dialogue, mostly the bickering and bantering between the lads :D, and this carries over into the stories I read as well. The dialogue in a story can make me picture the scene vividly, capture the characters, show the relationships between them, move the plot along, and much more.

So for this week’s check in post I have lots of links about writing dialogue for you with the hopes that you'll find at least one or two interesting.

How to write good dialogue

Writing dialogue

Writing believable dialogue

How to write dialogue that works

Dramatic dialogue

Writing natural dialogue

Lastly for a bit of a laugh How to write badly well.

And of course this is your chance to let us know how you are getting on, ask any questions, and just generally chat away about the BB.

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so this is my weekly check in, I WANT TO DRAW THINGS NOW!

And I want you to be drawing as well as that would mean we'd be closer to seeing the drawings! Right we need time to move a bit faster.

Haha! This is my reaction too. I WANT TO FIDDLE WITH THE LADS' PIXELS DAMMIT :D

And I know the lads always enjoy having their pixels fiddled by you.

I read over Belinda's "Writing Believable Dialogue'--She has some great tips!

Really glad you liked the link ♥.

But I [always] write-badly. Well. Itz my speshuality.

Love the links, ta muchly.

Tis mine lso, am xpert at it.

Glad you liked the links luv.

Thank you so much for those links; I always worry about writing good dialogue in everything I write. I'm sure these will be very useful. :D

My pleasure, I hope that you find something interesting in them.

There are some good articles here. Thanks.

I didn't understand or agree with all of the suggestions but one had a great bit about using dialect. It's one of my pet peeves when reading. This person said use it sparingly. I remember reading a m/m original novel set in Scotland and I had to skip almost all the dialogue! It made no sense to me. I actually understood what was going on without the dialogue. That's rather sad in the end. :)

I think I'm okay a good deal of the time with dialogue but I suck at sentence structure.

Really glad you found them interesting, I too do not agree with all of the stuff but hoped that everyone would find something that resonated.

The single best tip for checking dialogue - bar none - is simple: Read ALOUD what you have written. Reading it silently will not work the same. Listen to what you're reading aloud. If you find it too distracting to read aloud and listen at the same time, then record and playback. Or have someone else read the dialgue for you.

Does it sound natural? Stilted? Are the word choices appropriate for the time period and the character? Is the cadence right for the character?

All those questions are much, much easier to answer when you've actually heard the dialogue, as well as read it.

Humans utilize different parts of our brains to process written language and spoken language. We internalize and store different standards for what is common usage and acceptable in written and spoken language. By using both types of input (auditory and visual), you tap into a broader range of memories and counter-checks.

Broadly speaking - sorry, couldn't resist *G* - most people tend to speak far more informally than they write.

When writing dialouge, there is a tendency to utilize proper grammar - forgetting that most people make more grammatical errors in speech than they do when writing. So it is easy to over-correct when writing dialogue and produce something that is grammatically correct, yet would never issue from the mouth of your character.

And it doesn't have to be grammatical errors; it may be a level of informality. One example of informality in speech is the use of contractions. For a variety of reasons, in English, the use of contractions is much greater when speaking than writing.

Lack of contractions in written dialogue has the effect of producing dialogue that sounds far more formal, even stilted to the point of absurdity, than what you would hear in real life interactions.

So after you've written that dialogue - read it aloud. I can promise you, if you've not done it before, it will be a revelation.

Thanks for the tip, I have to admit it is something I do and find that it really helps me and I am always very nervous about writing dialogue.

This!! Yes, yes, yes!! When people don't use contractions in dialogue they usually throw me out of the story.

For Pros, yes. Unless you're writing for emphasis, "Do not shoot!" Cowley ordered. :)

For other characters in other canons who don't use contractions, then it's how it is. :) Ziva in NCIS never uses them when she speaks. She is also not a native English speaker, so...

Oh, absolutely. If the author (or an actor) is trying to show e.g. non-native speech patterns that works perfectly. But native speakers of any language rarely don't use contractions unless they're trying for emphasis or are making a formal speech.

I love writing dialogue! I haven't checked out any of the links because I have to dash off to work (in the pouring rain - ugh), but I'll be checking them out this evening!

I agree totally with

sc_fossil, when it comes to accents - just don't. You can convey an accent with one well-placed word, or sentence syntax. If the reader knows that accent, they'll hear it, if they don't know it, they'll never hear it, no matter how incomprehensible you make the dialogue in an attempt to capture it. Do, however, get a 'local' to check your dialogue and make sure it sounds like it comes from that area/region if you aren't very familiar with how the people there speak.

Great advice. Nothing like a local to check out a story. Thanks, L.

Really hope that you find something intersting in them and don't forget your umbrella when you head off to work (I say boo hiss to the rain).

They were definitely an interesting read... and I learned that I do a lot of the things suggested rather instinctively.

And who knew I was 'rare'? *g*

‘For a rare few writers, writing dialogue is as natural as breathing.’ – Steve P. Novel Doctor

I always hear my characters speaking in my head - perhaps that helps with the whole dialogue thing. Doyle is the only character I write who says "I shall have to..."

It wasn't an umbrella day today - today called for stronger measures! Gumboots and swamp jacket (mack?). I hate having to stir outside my door when it's bucketing down rain.

Lots of interesting stuff there. Too late, for me, for this time. I have sent my first/second draft to my beta and am biting my nails wondering what she'll think of it. Probably that I wrote well badly, or badly well, or...

I haven't used enough: h/c, banter, speech mannerisms, excitement, explicit sex, angst. Or I've used too much. Or... And if I try any more tweaking it will turn into a parody of itself. I'm sure you all know the feelings!! *g*

Now we need rewrites check-in posts. Or even re-writes [post-beta] check-in [for authors] posts.

Ooooo congrats on having a draft sent off to your beta, that is very exciting.

I used that April Fools thing to kick start me. Once I start writing I'm driven to finish - the story insists I ignore all other demands on my time. So I have almost 29k words to inflict on my beta, who is writing her own BB and hasn't got all the time in the world... Anyway, now that I've sent it to her I can sit back - can't do any more tweaking till she sends it back!

Meanwhile, once it had kicked me, April Fools was a waste of my time. I'm sure it would be great for a lot of people but I don't actually need encouragement to achieve wordcount.

Exciting? More like relief, feeling drained, etc. But I've just seen the housekeeping post about what has to be ready when, so maybe I can just relax. It's ready for the artist in its current state. I've even written a paragraph summary.

Transferred from Rough Draft Requirements.

Okay - I think I'm about halfway there with the min word count. :o (Haven't counted because my video card has died so I'm writing by hand. This is a weirdly configured work machine, so I'm thinking I can get away with posting - but no files.)

I'm having a lot of problems just finding the time to do this; my job is out of control, and I have a series of weird tragedies happening to me right now. I be cursed. :(

I'm *really* concerned about getting to finish this... I WANT to, but I can't even get far enough to check in with the person I've been talking to about it. And writing a lot at the last minute isn't going to work with my brain.

Okay, personal pout over.

Poor Bodie & Doyle - will be stuck in the Twilight Zone like this.

Hey, just wanted to reassure you that there is still lots of time left, well if you can get time away from everything to write.

There is over a couple of months until the rough draft deadline on July 1st and all that you need by that date is 10,000 words (and we will be happy with less as the rough draft post describes) and an outline.

You will then have all of July, August, and most of September to finish your story.

However we also know that sometimes real life has to take precedence and we will understand if that is the case, but I do still hope that you will get chance to write as I know I want to read what you are writing.

And I hope that work and everything else gets better for you as soon as possible.

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Weekly check in post!

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Tip For Checking Dialogue - Read It Aloud

Re: Tip For Checking Dialogue - Read It Aloud

Re: Tip For Checking Dialogue - Read It Aloud

Re: Tip For Checking Dialogue - Read It Aloud

Re: Tip For Checking Dialogue - Read It Aloud

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