December 9, 2004
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I went to the movies this afternoon with a friend. Even though it was my pick, I suggested we leave three quarters of the way into it. Closer was a big disappointment. I sat there listening to stilted dialogue that even good actors couldn’t pull off. It made me worry about my book, how my characters sound. One of you, I think it was lionne, suggested the next time I went to lunch, to pay close attention to the table next to me. Notice things like how they talk over each other and change the subject.
The premise of the movie was reasonable, but the story was just so lame. And the way it was told, jumping back and forth in time, made me nervous about my own timeline. Now I am wondering where I should begin my story. In fact, I wonder if that would be a good exercise. You know? Maybe I should look at it from a more physical perspective. I’ve been so caught up in the words. I had no idea it was going to be this complicated and I know I’ve said that at least twice now, when I’ve realized some new aspect that I was probably screwing up. Actually, it makes it more fun, gives it more depth.
It’s probably like a good song. You have the lyrics, you have the melody, and you have the rhythm. So I’m figuring out the words now, I’ve already got the story line, just not the right order of events, and I need to focus more on the background, what it looks like.
jerjonji said to use my pain and I assume that will allow me to give my work more intensity. But, and this is hard, she said to leave myself out of the characters. Finding that balance, where there’s just enough of you to make them real, but enough of them so that each character has a strong identity. I’m guessing that’s how you do it.
I’m preferring writing to real life. I can orchestrate the kind of world….Oh, no, I just realized some new pitfall. That can make or break a story, too. Orchestrating some tidy little life for my characters won’t make for a good story. Drama, people like drama.
Comments (10)
You write so well….I am thinking if you trust yourself and your judgement …all shall be fine…
I come here to read you and I am never bored.
((((HUGS))))
thank u for the well wishes
a tidy little story is just that… and some ppl are happy writing tidy little stories. for me the worst remark about my book was when a friend returned it and said… nice little story. so the editing pen came out, looking for what made it trite and overdone. but real writing begins with the editing procress- so enjoy the procress.
Can I send you my NaNo story? I’ve barely started editting another copy, but what I really want is feedback…
Let me know, please. Yes, of course it is long…hahaha…so I don’t expect someone to obligate the weekend or anything to reading such an exciting piece of prose. (LOL!!!!!) Still, if you can find the time, I’d appreciate a good opionion.
Peace and Love…GFW
your scars beat mine (pwn- in fact!) your spirit after that is awesome!
Thank you for your recent comments on my site. I felt flattered. I’m glad you enjoy my efforts. I enjoy your site and I hope you’re feeling a little lighter today in your own life.
thanks for enjoying the post
closer is a little better than you think — great play, okay moveie — adapted from a genius play
take it easy….why are you freaking out about your writing? i don’t have a JOB…and I assume that if I ever tried to write a book, I would say fuck it and ice cream and bourbon for three months.
Don’t be like I could maybe be one day now…
peace to ya’
zackfuller
writer_witihin is pretty cool… i want some better stories from India, however…
I think dialogue is the hardest part of writing. I can come up with setting, characters, pasts, the current events, but when I hit dialogue, it all falls apart.
Just keep at it. The idea of making some of it an exercise is likely a good one:)
Well, it’s good that you’re connecting your personal life to your writing.
I feel like such an amateur, such a baby around all these writers on your site. I feel strange, a 12-year-old attempting to give advice to a 50something-year-old.
Well, what are you gonna do. Can’t make myself older, so I won’t try.
I just read that over, and I said “well” one too many times. I think I do that in real life, along with “okay” and “like.”
Whoops! I do that when I write as well. That’s something you can watch out for, too–using certain words too much. There I go again, trying to give someone 40 years older than me advice.
Dialogue that isn’t stilted is the hardest part of writing. I avoided writing dialogue for YEARS just to avoid that pitfall known as sucky dialogue. That said, here is my advice. There is a witer who puts out books to help you write incredible stuff. His name, Donald Newlove. Read his books, he has helped me. Listen to dialogue of everyone around you. Take note of subtle changes in voice, inflection, and body language. These are as important as the words inside the conversations themselves. Keep practicing. Write and read, write and read. Work with the easy emotions first: anger, pain, guilt, envy. Strong emotions are the easiest to write. Once you can do them, work on the more subtle emotions. Let me know if this helps you any with your writing. And thanks for visiting my xanga site.