EXERCISE: Kickstart that dialogue

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

First posted 27 April 2007

Writer's Digest had this exercise about conversation starters, borrowed from Write Great Fiction: Dialogue by Gloria Kempton. Fairly simple, really. Just imagine that one character is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle enthusiast. This could be a hobbyist or a Hell's Angels member, your choice. Now have that character engage in a conversation with the following:

1. A Buddhist monk
2. a small child
3. A political candidate
4. A mental hospital escapee
5. A female police officer

Make sure that the voices -- the choice of words, the viewpoints, etc. are distinctive for each of these.

And when you're finished those, feel free to mix up your own dialogue meetings.

And write!

Comments

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Quoting Anthony Dauer:

1. A Buddhist monk
2. a small child
3. A political candidate
4. A mental hospital escapee
5. A female police officer
...walk into a bar.

Sure, why not? That would explain why such a varied group was talking with the biker. So we've got the leather jacket biker, the monk (in robes?), a kid skipping through the bar, the vote seeker, and a runaway from the shrinks. The lady cop, well, that's probably in the windup to the whole group.

Go ahead, write that scene, and let them talk!
tink