TECH: Super Structure (part 7) (400 words)

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 Original Posting Jan. 25, 2019

(for anyone just joining us, I'm walking slowly through James Scott Bell's book Super Structure. Today, we're on the very first beat in his list.)

Disturbance! The first signpost along the way. Bell starts by asking us what the first shot after the credits is in the Wizard of Oz. No matter what you might think, it’s a young girl running on a dirt road, with her dog, looking back over her shoulder. She’s obviously frightened, but we have no idea why. But we do know that something is disturbing!

That moment of disturbance, of upset, is what you want to start your story with. Not laying out the wood for a fire, but lighting the match.

Bell warns us that too many manuscripts start with what he calls the Happy People in Happy Land Fallacy. A chapter with no conflict, no trouble, nice characters, nice world... an ordinary life in an ordinary day.

What isn’t wrong with these people! Bell says, “The problem is the scene is too boring to hold our interest. ... what hooks a reader to a character is not how nice they are, but what trouble, challenge, or change threatens them.” Disturbing, right!

So, make trouble. Stir the pot! Right away.

Bell gives us some examples. Twilight starts with Bella’s mother driving her to the airport. We’re thrust right into the change! Or you could allude to a terrible change coming, as Dean Koontz does. Or perhaps a disturbance that has already happened, and will be explained? Intriguing first lines are always good...

Or sometimes the first paragraph just ends with a jolt, a hook that pulls us in. “Across the room sat the man who murdered his father.” Ouch! Disturbing...

Even literary (character more than plot) stories often have disturbing beginnings.

Bell reminds us that the opening, the start, of your story is what makes it work. Agent, editor, reader... they all want to see an opening that engages us, right away. Disturbance does that. “Trouble is the lifeblood of fiction.” So, as the old song says, “We’ve got trouble my friends, right here...”

So, how do you get that opening? Bell suggests writing several opening lines. Try out an opening with two characters in a tense dialogue.

Conflict, trouble, disturbance!

By the way, if things are slowing down or you aren’t sure what to do next with your story, try a little disturbance, trouble, conflict. Sprinkle disturbances throughout your story. Keep the pot boiling...

And make sure to start with a healthy disturbance!

TECH: Talk on the Wild Side (moldy oldie!) (740 words)

[mbarker]

 Original Posting Jan. 29, 2019

Writer's Digest, August, 1993, pages 22-24, had an article by Dave King with the title Talk on the Wild Side. The subtitle says, "When dialogue serves two, or three, or more purposes, your characters will be better drawn, your plot smoother, and your acceptance checks more frequent."

Dave starts out by reminding us that "good dialogue is not a faithful copy of real speech." Instead, dialogue is a version that sounds like real speech, at least in the reader's head. Dialogue is much more compressed, and serves specific purposes. For example,…

Characterization. "The single most important job your dialogue can do is build character." Sure, you can show the characters in action, describe them, and reveal their thoughts. But speaking is how we really get to know the characters. So you might use dialogue to convince us of your heroine's sophistication. And because dialogue reveals character, you can't afford excess filler. Because those are conventional. They lack character. So your characters need distinct voices.

How do you get good dialogue? Listen! Eavesdrop! Pick out the good dialogue hiding in the middle of real speech. Get rid of the repetitions, stock phrases, and uhm and ohs. Also, pay attention to books and movies. You'll develop your ear for voice. Then go over your own work, and pick out the flat dialogue, and rework it.

Make sure that the character voice is your character's voice, not yours. Try picking out all the line spoken by a single character, and just read those. Check the sentence structure, the word choice, the cadence. Then do the same thing for other characters. See if they sound alike, if they have the same rhythm and flow, or do they have their own unique voices?

Beware of having every line of dialogue be brilliant, original, and witty. You want characters your readers sympathize with, not run away from. Sure, give your readers a chance to catch their breath, lull them before surprise, or just make the characters plausible.

Plotting. Dialogue can advance the plot! Plot twists are often revealed in dialogue. Sometimes blatantly, and sometimes more subtly. Check the effect the conversation is having on your characters. See what they are learning, and what the readers are learning. Are there changes revealed in the dialogue?

As with characterization, every line of dialogue doesn't have to advance the plot. Sometimes, talk is just talk. Also, you don't want your plot to be totally relentless. Give your readers a chance to breathe.

Dave tells us,  "Infusing your dialogue with character will help infuse it with plot… Much of your plot is likely to be linked to character developments. Changes in your characters will be events in your plot. And again, your characters are revealed most effectively through their dialogue."

Exposition. Instead of telling us about things, use dialogue. "Dialogue is an effective way to present information because it makes the exposition of part of the story rather than an impediment to it." Back story! Flashbacks are one way to do it, but… Try having one character tell another character about that important piece of background.

Beware of dialogue scenes whose only purpose is to pass on information. "As you know, Bob…" Or maid and butler scenes are likely to feel artificial. Pay attention to the other uses of the dialogue. Consider interweaving the dialogue with some action by the characters. Make sure your characters react to the story that is being told.

Dave says, "When you're using dialogue for exposition, you must make sure that it is dialogue your characters would actually say in the circumstances. Your expository dialogue must serve characterization and plot purposes, as well."

Characterization, plotting, exposition… "Get everything possible out of your dialogue, and then watch it bring your fiction to life."

There you go. Give your characters something to say, and let what they say show us who they are, what they're doing, and what we all need to know? Sounds interesting…

Want to practice? Take a scene with dialogue that you have written or are working on, and go through it. For each line or interchange in the dialogue, ask yourself how this brings out character, contributes to the plot, or provides important information to the reader and the characters. Ask yourself how that line of dialogue or exchange could be powerpacked with more characterization, plot interaction, or information. Go ahead and make a revised version. See what happens.