#writing conversations

[musewrangler]

The excruciating process of writing an emotionally important and impactful chapter from multiple viewpoints until the writer is a mere husk

[noeul-writes]

Writing conversations are so hard. I'm pretty sure what I wrote is coming off too off putting and fast and it also ends very abruptly

[historyherstory]

So many tabs up for information with Market Garden maps, action reports, and the Dutch Resistance.

Timing question: I write ahead so I have these resources up weeks (or months) before chapters get posted. I do post "chapter references" & try to include the information in them, but so much time passes that sometimes I miss things (or can't find the exact source again).

I'm tempted to start another tag ("Drafting references") where I post sources as I'm using/writing them. Hopefully that also keeps it easier to pull them into the chapter references when the chapters eventually get posted.

(It also gives you guys a little bit of a teaser as to what specific information I'm researching & citing).

Opinions on this?

[sarahbobbie]

A little something based on the movie The Break Up

Their apartment is a mess. A sink full of unwashed dishes. Half-empty wine bottles scattered on the counter. The dining table, where Enjolras often works, is cluttered with paintbrushes and crumpled sketches. Enjolras stands in the doorway, his jaw clenched, arms crossed tightly across his chest. Grantaire lounges on the couch, a bottle of cheap wine dangling from his fingers, his eyes half-lidded but watchful.

Enjolras’s voice is low and tightly controlled, the calm before the storm.

“You said you’d clean up. Three days ago.”

Grantaire shrugs, taking a lazy sip from the bottle. “I’ve been busy.”

“Busy?” Enjolras snaps, stepping further into the room. “Busy doing what? Drinking? Painting half-finished canvases you won’t even look at tomorrow? Or was it your busy schedule of avoiding anything remotely meaningful?”

Grantaire smirks, but there’s a flicker of hurt in his eyes. “You’re one to talk. Is this about the dishes, or is this about my failure to meet your impossibly high standards again?”

Enjolras exhales sharply, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t about standards. It’s about respect. For me, for yourself, for this—” He gestures broadly to the apartment, to the space they share. “I’m tired of being the only one who cares enough to try. You think this is just about the dishes? It’s not. It’s everything.”

“Everything,” Grantaire echoes mockingly. “Everything is such a big word, Enjolras. I didn’t know dirty plates were the collapse of our entire—what, relationship? Partnership? Whatever this is.” He waves his hand dismissively.

“That’s exactly it,” Enjolras fires back, his voice rising. “You treat everything like it’s a joke. Like nothing matters. I can’t keep carrying us both while you sit there, undermining everything I’m trying to build. Every time I look at you, I feel like I’m trying to pull you out of quicksand, and you just—won’t—move.”

Grantaire sits up straighter, his smirk vanishing. “Maybe I’m fine in the quicksand. Did you ever think of that? Maybe I don’t want to be dragged onto your pedestal of perfection, where nothing is ever good enough, where I’m just another failure in your eyes.”

Enjolras’s voice cracks, but his fury doesn’t waver. “You think this is about perfection? About me wanting to fix you? No, Grantaire. It’s about wanting to be with you, but you make it impossible. You hide behind your cynicism, your drinking, your—your endless excuses for why nothing can change. I can’t—I won’t live like this.”

Grantaire stands now, the wine bottle set down too hard on the coffee table. “You knew what I was when you picked me, Enjolras. Don’t stand there pretending I tricked you into thinking I was someone else. If you wanted a partner who could match your world-changing dreams, you should’ve gone for someone like Combeferre. Or Jehan. Or literally anyone who’s not a walking disappointment.”

“That’s not fair!” Enjolras shouts, the words finally breaking through his composure. “I chose you, Grantaire. I’ve always chosen you, despite—despite everything. But I can’t keep choosing you if you refuse to choose yourself. I don’t need you to be perfect. I don’t need you to agree with me or march in my rallies. But I need you to care about something. About us. About yourself.”

Grantaire falters, the weight of Enjolras’s words sinking in. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come.

Enjolras’s voice softens but is no less firm. “I’m exhausted, R. I’m exhausted from fighting the world every day and then coming home to fight you, too. I need to know this is worth it. That we’re worth it. But I can’t be the only one trying anymore.”

The silence that follows is unbearable. Grantaire looks away, his jaw tightening, his fingers flexing like he wants to reach for Enjolras but doesn’t know how.

Finally, Enjolras shakes his head, his expression a mixture of heartbreak and resignation. “I can’t keep doing this.”

He turns and walks toward the door, grabbing his coat from the hook. Grantaire takes a step forward, his voice hoarse.

“Where are you going?”

Enjolras pauses, his back to Grantaire. “I don’t know. But I can’t be here right now.”

The door closes behind him, leaving Grantaire alone in the too-quiet apartment. The wine bottle sits untouched on the table, the sketches scattered, the dishes still unwashed.

[cjjasp]

Characterization part one – 7 rules for writing conversations plus 4 for extra credit

In real life, we are drawn to certain people and get to know them better through conversations. At first, they’re an unknown quantity. They become individuals to us once we’re introduced and we discover their speech habits, resonate with their sense of humor, and learn bits of their backstory. On the opposite side of the coin, conversations can alert us to people we choose to avoid. Good…

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[reverieblue98]

Dialogue Help!

If you’re a new author, you might want to read this post! Dialogue is quickly becoming the most important part of modern novels, rivaling descriptive narration. If you aim to write for teens or young readers, you’ll need to know how to write dialogue well!

Alright, let’s review proper grammar first. Remember, if you intend to add a tag (he said, she frowned), you need to end your dialogue line with a comma. Also, you do not capitalize the pronoun in the tag! Only proper nouns are capitalized. 

✔ “Look over there,” she said.

❌“Look over there.” She said.

If you don’t want to include a tag, end the dialogue line with proper punctuation. 

✔ “Everything’s good.”

❌ “Everything’s good,”

Okay, on to how to write dialogue between two characters! If your conversation is longer, you can leave out tags. It makes it less chunky, and more appealing. Here’s an example:

“I told you not to do that,” she sighed. 

“Well, it’s not my fault!” he frowned. 

“Who’s is it, then?” she rolled her eyes.

“Not mine, that’s for sure,” he grumbled.

Even though I have variety in my tags, and everything is grammatically correct, it just looks and sounds unnatural. Let’s try this instead: 

“I told you not to do that,” she sighed.

“Well, it’s not my fault!” he frowned.

“Who’s is it, then?” 

“Not mine, that’s for sure.” 

By only including the first two tags, I establish the characters talking but also make it less crowded and unnatural. You can still tell who is talking, but it’s a little easier on the eyes. You don’t have to do this if you really want to express how your character is speaking, but I suggest this format for long conversations like arguments or explanations. 

Now let’s look at three or more characters talking. This is harder, because most of the time you can’t leave out the tag, as the reader might be left confused. Example:

“What are you having?” Mia asked Rachel.

“Hm, I’m not sure. Jacob said that I should try a milkshake,” Rachel responded.

“Yeah, it’s really good! Especially if you ask for whipped cream,” Jacob smiled.

“That sounds great,” Mia agreed. 

It’s a little bland, but it’s hard to create tags that clarify who is talking in this format. How about changing the sentences a bit?

“What are you having, Rachel?” Mia looked at the menu.

“Hm, I’m not sure. Jacob said that I should try a milkshake,” she responded.

“Yeah, it’s really good! Especially if you ask for whipped cream, too,” he smiled.

“That sounds great,” Mia responded.

By clarifying who Mia is addressing in the first line, the reader will assume that person responding to Mia’s question is Rachel. In that case, I don’t have to say Rachel’s name directly. The same goes for Jacob. Once I’ve established Jacob is the only boy in the group, I don’t have to write his name every time. 

Another way to clarify who is talking is to use action tags! Action tags are things a character does during or after talking, and it’s useful for indirectly telling the reader who is talking. For example:

“Hey,” Kali tossed them a water bottle. “That wasn’t half bad.” 

“Thanks,” Aiden smiled. 

“So, you’ll come to practice tomorrow, right?” Amanda punched them playfully. “We could use someone like you to help us out.”

“Yeah, I guess I could,” they said nonchalantly, pretending it wasn’t a big deal. 

“Great!” Kali winked. “See you tomorrow.”

If you noticed, not all of my tags are action tags. I used a healthy variety to keep it interesting, and also show the reader how these characters are interacting. Action tags play a key role when describing what kind of person your character is, little habits they have, what emotion they’re feeling, etc.

The key to good dialogue is learning where that sweet middle is, between clear and descriptive writing. It’s difficult, but practice is how you’ll get better! Anyway, if you have any questions I can answer or some advice for me, let me know! thanks for reading, and happy writing. 

-RB

[kaylewiswrites]

Writeblr Conversations

To be honest if I knew it was going to get as much action as it did, I probably would’ve tried to come up with a better name. 

For those of you who missed last week, this is a new way for me and all the people joining in to learn about each other’s projects and writing habits. Send in an ask or reblog this post with your answer so we can all get to know each other better. 

I’ve had writers block on the brain this week, maybe because I just got out of mine, so...

Week Two: How do you fight writers block? 

I think most of us can stand to stock up on tips and techniques as far as this is concerned, so I’m looking forward to hearing your answers. 

I’m going to be tagging all my reblogs as ‘writeblr conversations’ from now on, if you’re interested in searching the tags for other people’s answers, or if you don’t feel like seeing it all over your dash. 

I’m making a tag list for people who don’t want to miss these weekly talks, so if you want to join (or be removed) don’t hesitate to ask! @elybydarkness @tjswritingstuff @gettingitwrite @gooseandcaboose @julesruleswrites @dawnhorizons @kd-holloman @reininginthefirewriting @writingonesdreams