Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash When I write, it is the voice of the character that comes first. I hear the dialogue, and it generates setting, conflict and motivation for me. So when I write, dialogue is first. Sure, there will be tags and description that comes with it, but it is minimalistic. After a…
The art of writing dialogue I have always enjoyed reading Heinlein’s books, but it is his dialogue that holds my attention the most. His characters play with words and by doing so demonstrate relationships and conditions. This excerpt from The Cat that Walks Through Walls is a great example of how his dialogue clearly separated…
Regional stories are wrapped around the cultural, traditional, and environmental qualities of the area. Often dialect is a feature, but not a requirement. So work on a few paragraphs of a story that can only happen where you are. Make it utterly dependent on the locale, can’t happen anywhere else but there. Read Faulkner’s “Barn…
