Dialogue
I love dialogue. I love how you can do so much with it. See pictures, tell stories, convey wit or distrust or whole characters with a few clever lines. Not to mention apply clues. For me, it's how characters come to life. So you can imagine how important it is to remember good lines when one thinks of them.
Or you do what I do and follow your husband around with a recorder.
A sample of the hubby's allure:
Me, on the topic of sexiness and the rather startling fact that he seems to find me irresistible: It's so nice you still find me sexy.
Him, with a shrug: Sex is sexy.
Me, attempting to be analytical because...did he just accidentally say he didn't find me sexy??: I don't know. Sometimes sex isn't sexy at all.
Him, with that slow curving smile that got him married in the first place: It is when I do it.
Few things are as annoying as a man with an irrefutable point, which is rather cornerstone to my novels, now that I think about it. But I digress.
A writer will go to interesting lengths for just that perfect piece of dialogue. Eavesdrop shamelessly on perfect strangers. Make notes at dinner tables. Force family members to repeat themselves. Attack stubborn siblings with turkey drumsticks when they refuse. I mean, look at me. I'll even go for a walk or hop on my exercise bike because it enables me to do something and leave my brain free to wander on plot and the like. (As the Time Hog post earlier detailed, we Smoking Sisters are not good at doing just one thing at a time.)
It might just be my opinion, but dialogue can make or break a book. It's got to flow right. It's got to be engaging. Intelligent. Revealing. Dialogue, my friends, is a book's lifeblood.
So why am I harping on it today? Well, because I just started a new book and it looks like it's yet another "His Girl Friday" kind of tales. Which means the dialogue has to click, and quick. So while I'm thinking up lines of brilliance (snort), tell me what YOU think makes or breaks a book? Can you tell what makes a favorite book stay on your keeper shelf?
Time Hog checking in here.
Time Hog checking in here. I love dialogue. Give me a book that is practically a script and I'm happy. Of course, I used to read plays for fun. I listen to people all the time to keep my ear trained. I guess being a writer means being an eavesdropper. Oh, and I love your husband's finally comment to the sex isn't always sexy discussion.
LOL!
The best thing about my husband is that he never fails to surprise me. Three o'clock in the morning, he can still make me laugh. :)
Dee
Dialogue
I am in complete awe of authors who can write great dialogue! Sometimes it's just so difficult to get it right. Lately, when I watch television or go to the movies, I find I analyze the dialogue, listen to the inflections and meaning in the voice, watch the body language, etc. One of my favorite things to do is Google great movie quotes...Clint Eastwood had so many great lines from his spaghetti western films.
See, my problem is that I can't shut up...
The more nervous I get, the worse I am. I chew my lips to listen to others. Basically, my own dialogue is from a rampant case of verbal diarrhea, lol. Gives you lots of stuff to pull from. :)
I'm all talk. Literally. :)
Verdant green hills
You're so right, Dee. Dialogue can make or break a book. I like a little description of setting, but I'm so much more into the conversations people have rather than the place they're standing in. In fact, after about three lines of description, I start to skim. Remember the romances of days past? Rolling mountains, skies of cobalt blue and verdant green hills. And what the hell is an Aubusson rug, anyway? I love historicals, but it seems like every one has an Aubusson rug. Is that Regency England's answer to Berber?
-Tasha
hahahahahahahah!
I have always wondered...what IS an aubusson rug? Is that like the English answer to Oriental rugs? LOL!
Dee
I love dialogue - I think
I love dialogue - I think what works is when it's real. If I believe the character would actually say that, or have a conversation like the one I just read. Sometimes dialogue gets clunky - like the author has decided to use dialogue, but needs to set the scene, then having the character say things nobody in real life or in the right mind would say. Or if anything the other character would look at them and say "What? I stopped paying attention about five minutes ago." Characters with one sentence that take up 4 lines, really kill books for me. I love witty one liners, or a word that can stop a character -and the reader- in his or her tracks. There are some books with *terrific* dialogue where I think "I have to write that down!!"
Hey Dee
Honestly? This may sound boring, but what makes or breaks a book for me is depth, and usually that is related to well-motivated characters. I need to know why people are doing/saying the things they are, and I like to get under the surface -- superficial books really turn me off. And that doesn't mean they all have to be ponderous or serious -- a playful book can have depth, but that will affect dialogue, description, all of it...IMO
Sam
But...but...
I'm the cookie-sheet girl, remember?
Okay, good dialogue with people talking for a good reason. I can live with that!
Dee