Author stream of wossit. Ignore

[erastes]

So the book is getting to that point where I'm really enjoying to write it.  It's a lovely point to be in, and I don't know whether other authors have this, but I usually like the first page or so of a novel because that's been knocking me in the brain for a year or two, and I know how things start, but the scary stuff is one or two chapters in.  I've just finished chapter 7 and I have to say, I really enjoyed writing it.  I've not written something so very dependent on dialogue before.

See, when I was writing Standish I didn't do dialogue much - and I realised this after I'd finished it. There were speeches. But there wasn't much conversation.

It was role playing games in fandom that helped me there. RPG was hugely helpful, because you wrote conversations. Very little description, because it was deep deep pov, usually 3rd person and run on LJ it was simply a back and forth thing. Perhaps a little description as: "Severus picked up the jug and gave Lucius a blank look. "And you thought this would work? A second rate potion like this?"

Timing - this is something I never see discussed in writing, but something i think is as important in novels as it is on comedy shows or in films. If you write a dialogue heavy scene, it has to have timing, it's important to let your characters falter, to let them break their speech in the middle, at the end - and it has to have realism. People don't speak in complete sentences for example - people um and er and break off and wave their arms in exasperation and how often do you see that in a book? People mispronounce words, or use the wrong words and get mocked. People forget the names for things or lose the thread of the conversation completely. And yet in books everyone seems to know what to say and continues to say it until they've finished.

I don't think for one second that I've perfected the art of dialogue, but I'm having enormous fun letting characters show me who they are by  allowing me listen to their conversations.

Comments

[essayel.livejournal.com]

I really like your points about dialogue. It's very important for it to sound right. People don't declaim, they witter and waffle and contradict themselves and it's SO difficult to write well.

Online RPG is a constant surprise to me. For the past 4 years I've been blessed by writing with some brilliant people in a game that does allow for descriptive passages as well as dialogue and complex and entertaining plot. The only problem is that it's so stimulating and friendly that the solitary graft of writing a novel is very hard to get down to.

I'm glad you're enjoying your writing process. That means it'll go quicker!

[m-barnette.livejournal.com]

The only problem is that it's so stimulating and friendly that the solitary graft of writing a novel is very hard to get down to.

I know this feeling all too well. After a lively day of RP it's hard as hell to go back to solo writing. You keep wanting someone else to take a turn so you can get some fresh ideas and there isn't anyone else!

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Ah I'm at work during the day so writing time and RP time compete for the same hours. However, one day I'll retire and write in the mornings when I'm all bright and sparky, and can edit and RP at the same time in the evenings - in my dreams probably, but it's nice to have a goal.

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Yes, there was a lot of declaiming in Standish, but I think I'm over that now.

I did love RPGing while I did it, there was some stress too, which drove me mad because OMG some people are such bloody divas - but I had a huge amount of fun being Lucius and Fenrir.

[essayel.livejournal.com]

Harry Potter RPGs drove me to distraction if not quite the bottle, but luckily I avoided the canon police by playing Gilbert Wimple [who has only one line of canon plus horns!]. Now we do contemporary fiction with a supernatural twist and have a whale of a time with it, though sadly the first three years were on Greatest Journal and are now gone. Thank goodness for LJarchive!