Our editing tips over the next few months are part of a series called Dial up Your Dialogue, by Writing Your Life editor Teresa Bruce. Be sure to follow along each month for Teresa’s fantastic tips to energize your dialogue.99190 WUOT Dialogue Logo V2.0
If you’ve ever heard Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine, you’ve witnessed the hilarity of an ambiguous conversation crafted with care. In most cases, however, you’ll want readers understanding your dialogue without confusion.
Be sure your readers can tell who speaks each line of dialogue. In the example cited in last month's Dial Up Your Dialogue editing tip, context revealed Timmy and Mom as the speakers. In a scene with more than two individuals present, vary the use of dialogue tags—he said, she said, Timmy said, Mom said—with action beats that show each speaker acting in a way that enhances the story.
I've been thinking today about who we are when we write — and I don’t mean how we view ourselves as people, but who we are as storytellers — because when we write, we can do so from many different perspectives. Depending on what we’re writing about, we can be whomever we want to be. …
What a lovely day on the lake. The Fall 2012 Writing Marathon held on Lake Fairview on Saturday, November 3rd, couldn't have been more perfect. The weather was ideal, we had a great potluck, and people went out and sat by the lake to write. How inspiring.
Throughout our day we used a variety of motivational writing…
Last Sunday, a group of sixteen Writing Your Lifers got a taste of what’s to come on the Writing the Waves cruise, which sets sail on Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas on May 12, 2013. We spent time touring the ship and enjoying a wonderful sit-down lunch. Unfortunately, we had to leave at 3:00…
In last week’s post on Writing with Photographs, we talked about ways to look at photographs—how to systematically examine the photograph’s physical characteristics, inventory the image, listen for the story the picture has to tell and answer the basic who-what-where-when-why-how questions.
Now, let’s focus our attention on what to do with the information gleaned from…
At the Amelia Island Genealogical Society a few weeks back, a woman mentioned the Smithsonian Institution’s Journey Stories exhibit traveling the United States. I looked into it and found that Florida was one of the tour’s early stops. The Gateway Center for the Arts in DeBary, Florida, is currently hosting the exhibit through October 13th.
This…
Last week Bob and I spent a few days at the beach in conjunction with a talk I gave to members of the Amelia Island Genealogical Society. (To view photos of this event, click here.) We relaxed and spent time with our good friend Liam, and by slowing down and experiencing a new place, I…
After the First Saturday Writing Workshop a couple of days ago, new Writing Your Life class member Bruce asked a question I hear often: Is it better to write by hand or on a computer?
I gave him a strong, qualified answer: Well, it depends. And it does. It depends on what works best for you.…
Bob and I are in South Louisiana visiting my parents and other family members this week. In the room where we’re staying, my mother has a large, walk-in closet which holds a lifetime of memories. Each piece on those shelves has a story, and the fact it has survived all these years confirms its importance…
People sit around table. With pencil in hand and pages before them, they follow along as someone reads an excerpt from his or her life story. A discussion follows: I liked how you described this person. Your dialogue is well written. You might want to vary the structure of your sentences in this paragraph. I’d…
