So I'm going a little wacky this week and trying something different. Want to jump in and give it a try along with me?
This is what I want you to submit:
Up to one full page (approx. 250 words) of mostly dialogue (internal monologue and beats are fine, but no narration) that PROPELS THE ACTION FORWARD.
Not dialogue that develops character relationship, or solves an immediate problem, or exists for the sole purpose of showing off our dialogue-writing skills.
Give me dynamic dialogue that gets something DONE. Dialogue without which your story would stall.
Have you done it? Can you do it? Let us have a look at it!
Because, truly, who needs "blah blah blah" just for its own sake?
Post your questions in the comment box below. Please email all entries to authoressmail (at) gmail.com by 9:00 AM EDT on Thursday, May 22 (that's 3:00 PM London).
Miss Snark's First Victim
So by no narration, do you include tag lines in that? (Assuming they're necessary.)
ReplyDeleteDl that gets things done? I'll see what I can find in my archives.
ReplyDeleteTag lines are fine. Just no whole paragraphs of narration, KWIM?
ReplyDeleteJust_me -- you have ARCHIVES? Cool. :)
(blushes)
ReplyDeleteI've been writing for a while, not everything gets finished though, so I have archives. Ideas, dailouge, plot outlines, tid-bits and fragments all waiting for me to have the free time to world-build and get things written. Right now I have 3 manuscripts fully finished and 2 that I'm actively polishing and having critiqued so I can query at years end.
(guilty smile) Doesn't everyone have archives???
Merc has archives, don't you, Merc?
oooo- I think I failed, there's some narration in the snippet I sent. Drat.
ReplyDeleteNathan Bransford is running a contest along these lines too and I got rules confused, I may have to try again or be disqualified...