EXERCISE: Daddy, what's a parachute?

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Ouch, that was embarrassing!

Here's the scene. My wife and myself met friends yesterday - a couple our age, their son and daughter-in-law, and their two youngsters (one two years old, one six years old). We went to dinner, nice talk, everything good.

But along the way, we were talking about the Grand Canyon glass walk? The one that sticks out a ways, recently opened? And my wife happened to mention her idea about renting parachutes. We all chuckled.

That's when the six-year-old boy looked at his father and said, "Daddy, what's a parachute?"

Do you have any idea how hard it is to explain what a parachute is?

So, there's the exercise. Feel free to draft a set of characters to fit your preferences, and have a youngster ask what a parachute is. Then have the other characters explain.

Simple, right?

TECH: Three Characters in Search of Romance?

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Writers Digest, September 2004, page 55 and 56, has an article by Michelle Bardsley concerning three kinds of personalities that are often used in romance. It starts with a quotation about just what character is. A character is "a set of inherent qualities in the imitation of a human being. What we call a character in a novel, play or movie bear close resemblance to human being but is not one." Interesting thought. While we may model our characters on real people, they are trimmed and cleaned up, fitted to our stories. Just as dialogue is not really the way people talk, even though it suggests the way they talk, so to a character is not really a person, even though it suggests a person to the reader.

Now, what are the characters that Michelle describes. Well, she calls them alpha, beta, and gamma characters (yeah, I know, that's jargon for A, B, and C). And for each one, she lists the attraction factor, fault line, bedroom antics (this is romance after all), and occupations.

So the alpha character is attractive because of physical and mental strength, fierce loyalty, and taking action. The alpha's faults are stubbornness, not liking having his views challenged, and not displaying emotion. Bedroom antics? Raw passion, and expects matching enthusiasm. Occupations include law enforcement, military officer, CEO, politician, pilot, and athlete. These are the alpha heroes, the man of action who take charge and make things happen.

The beta character is a good listener, practical and hard-working, and funny . He has faults -- he doesn't like to take risks, he hides behind humor, and he's too cautious. In the bedroom, he sets the mood with romantic gestures and takes it slow. For occupations, these are care providers, singers, veterinarians, accountants, counselors, and artists. The beta character can be a hero, but he is a man of words, not action.

Gamma characters are unafraid to lead, do consider others' ideas, and take calculated risks. They get in trouble because they overthink situations, avoid changes in the status quo, and work themselves into an early grave. Passionate, but romantic, setting the pace without demanding, their style in the bedroom keeps the pot boiling. They might be a doctor, lawyer, writer, scientist, forest ranger, or lifeguard. Gamma heroes are both men of action and of words.

Three short characterizations, for the man of action, the man of words, and the blend. Obviously, you will want to add details, building the cardboard cutout into a more well rounded character, but it's an interesting place to start. Will your hero be alpha, beta, or gamma? And how will the heroine react? Will she help him fight his inner demons, push him to go ahead and act, or get him out from behind the others?

Write!

EXERCISE: One line?

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The pad by my bed says, "alien waiting room."

I keep a pad and pen by the bed just in case one of the thoughts that I stumble over while drifting between sleep and waking seems likely to be useful. I don't dream very much, or at least I don't remember my dreams very much, but occasionally something will come to mind in that half asleep half awake transition and seem like it should be useful. I've learned to scribble down a few words, and can usually figure out what they are later.

Last night, I realized that sometime this week I had scribbled something down. So I stopped to read it. "Alien waiting room." Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to resurrect the line of thought behind it. An alien in a waiting room? A waiting room in an alien society? Or is the waiting room alien itself? As an SF fan, I tend to think of alien as nonhuman, but it could be the simple foreigner -- an alien to the shore?

In any case, let's use it in a slightly expanded form as a prompt for writing. So, here is your one line starter.

She looked up and said, "There's an alien in the waiting room."

Feel free to give her a name. Oh, and why is she looking up? What kind of alien, the local foreigner or the more exotic visitor from the stars? And what kind of a waiting room is this, doctor, dentist, automobile repair, or something else?

You can use this one line as is to start a story or a poetry. You can modify it and use it somewhere in your writing. You can even simply let it inspire the writing, without ever explicitly using these words. But . . .

WRITE!

tink
(I shall try to avoid pondering just what I was thinking when I wrote "alien waiting room" on the pad by my bed. I'm sure I had something in mind, but it seems to be gone now. Oh, well. :-)

TECH: Writing Gab

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First posted 8 May 2007

Writers Digest, January 2005, pages 35 to 37 have an article by Gloria Kempton entitled The Gift of Gab. It's a discussion of how to deliver effective dialogue. As Gloria says, "Believable dialogue doesn't just give your characters life. If done well, it can accomplish so many other goals in your story. Through dialogue, you give readers a very real sense of a story's setting. Dialogue can reveal your characters' motives and opposing agendas. It can even communicate your story's theme." So let's take a look at Gloria's recommendations, shall we?

Don't worry about perfection. People don't use perfect grammar and sentence structure when they talk. Sentence fragments, phrases, slang and dialects -- let it all hang out.

Don't let dialogue drive the scene. Scenes need action, narrative, and dialogue. Your job as writer is to balance these. You use dialogue to move the plot forward, provide characterization, sneak background information in, provide descriptions of characters, and even for building tension. But you still need events to drive the tale forward for a plot-driven story or internal transformations for a character-driven story. Dialogue is a way for characters to engage with each other in a scene, but you need the action and the narrative too.

Don't use your characters to preach. Whatever the character says should be his or her own thoughts and feelings in their own voices. When the character is just a mouthpiece for you, the author, then we've got trouble.

Don't try to be cute or clever. Characters who are always entertaining, amusing, clever, cracking jokes, and laughing can be just annoying. Slow down, and make your characters dialogue natural and real.

Do know your characters. Dialogue that rings true comes from the author really knowing the people. Different characters should sound different. Gloria suggests doing first-person profiles, which are really extended monologues by the characters, as a way to explore how each person talks.

Do write from your gut. Dialogue needs to do a lot of things, but when we try to worry about those, it often shows up in stilted unnatural dialogue. So let your characters talk.

Do pace your dialogue. There is a rhythm to stories, and the dialogue should contribute to this. Fast-moving dialogue, slow contemplative discourse, whatever it takes to fit the rhythm of the story

Do search for the essence. Every scene, and every dialogue, has an essence or core. That's what the writer is trying to re-create. "The goal is to write authentic dialogue while writing only the dialogue that matters in the current scene as it connects to the overall story." And then Gloria offers this advice:

"To get in the habit of searching for the essence in your dialogue, comb through your characters' words until you find the ones they have to say. You need the words that characterize, create suspense and tighten the tension. To find the essence means to tie these words into the story's theme so every word and every scene connects in some way to the big picture."

So let's see. On the don't side, we need to let go of perfection, watch for dialogue taking over, keep your own opinions out of the way while the characters talk, and hold back on the wisecracking. So what do we do? First, know the characters. Second, write from the gut. Third, match the pace of the dialogue to the rhythm of the story. And last, but far from least, focus on the essence. The essential dialogue, not the runaway drivel.

Got it? Hey, give it a shot. Take a scene with a pair of characters, and have them talk! Maybe the protagonist and antagonist have to treat each other nicely because of the situation -- what do they talk about and how do they say it? Take almost any scene from any story or novel, and write the dialogue for it.

Write!