Tag Archives: authors

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Don’t Talk To Me In That Tone of Voice! by L.Leander

propic11_1This post by L.Leander, Author of Fearless Fiction

Don’t Raise Your Voice To Me…

Ever heard that from a parent, friend or loved one?  I have.  Sometimes when we’re young we get a little sassy.  It’s normal for children to become independent and, well, a little bratty sometimes when they speak to those in authority.  Occasionally, (but only if I’ve had a bad day) my voice just might have a different timbre when I speak to my husband.  Now, I’m one of the lucky ones.  My husband is very low-key.  Nothing like his wife, who is always so busy flitting from one place to the other that she forgets where she’s supposed to be next or if she left the iron plugged in.  No, my sweet spouse doesn’t say a word, just gives me the raised eyebrow.  Stops me every time and we laugh.

What does that have to do with writing you ask?  Think about it.  Is your character’s voice syrupy sweet or belligerent?  Is it timid or confident?  Your reader needs to know through discussion what type of person is speaking.

action1_1We work for hours on character descriptions and setting, but occasionally we forget dialogue.  Simple conversation can make or break a novel.  If the reader is invested in the personalities that emerge from the pages of the book he or she will devour it until the end and tell everyone what a great read it is.

On the other hand, if the discourse falls flat and goes nowhere the reader will put the book down and walk away.

As writers we don’t need to be overly descriptive of our characters.action2_1  Show readers through good dialogue what the person is like.  Make their words strong and forceful or quiet and meek.  Allow the personalities to shine, to make a mark, to entertain and leave the reader in anticipation of what will happen next.

For instance, here’s a ho-hum sentence and an action sentence.

Shawn entered the smoky room and took a good look around.  He saw Rita at the bar and walked toward her, anger building up inside him.

And:

Shawn coughed as he entered the smoky room.  “Where on earth have you been?”  Beer splashed as he slammed his glass on the bar and took a seat next to Rita.  “I’ve been waiting for two hours for you to call.”

The first sentence is descriptive, yes, but the second is powerful.  We get from the dialogue that Shawn is angry through his words and his actions.  In the first sentence we are told those things, in the second we experience them.  Also, I’m one of the Stephen King believers in not using too many exclamation points.  Show the action.  It’s better than using the punctuation mark.

Here are a couple of good posts on descriptive dialogue that you might want to check out.  I found them very interesting.

Lafenty from Hubpages.com

http://lafenty.hubpages.com/hub/Writing-Great-Dialogue-Part-Two

Sarah Billington from WriteSideways.com

http://writeitsideways.com/dialogue-description/

Will your characters raise their voices today?  What will they say?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Books by L.Leander:INZARED Book Cover_1

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Finding Your Character

doris curiosity

A post by Doris McCraw

Actors have ways of finding their character when preparing for a performance.  As an acting coach it is my job to help them learn the easiest way for them to access that information. Many of the tips and tricks used by the actor translate to writing also.

Let’s start with how you find your character.  Some actors create by finding what the psychological make up of the character they are to play.  What makes them tick? How do they think and react to those around them? How does the character sound, is their voice low or high, soft or strident?  Many times clues are found in the script itself.

Other actors find their character from the way they perceive how the characters body moves.  Is it stiff or fluid in movement?  Do they dress conservatively or bohemian? Do they march when they walk or glide as if on a cloud? What kind of shoes to they wear?

Once the actor makes their choices it is on to delivering the lines. Many new students believe that you just say the lines as written with emotion and clarity.  They don’t understand the depth that they are capable of bringing to those lines.

If you want to be believed it is necessary to understand what has happened before even saying your first line. If it is the first line in the script why are you saying what you are saying?  What is the subtext? What is your biography?  The audience may never or need to know, but it will inform your whole performance.

Now you may ask yourself how does any of this relate to my writing? Take a look at some of the questions actors  ask themselves when preparing for a performance. If in your writing you answer those questions you may find that your characters and story take on a life of their own.  The stories become more than just lines and settings, they become flesh and blood.  If they do that for you, imagine what they will do for your readers.

If you would like to study more about the actors process the following books are a good read.

“The Technique of Acting” by Stella Adler

“Acting on Film” by Michael Caine

“The Power of the Actor” by Ivana Chubbuck

“Getting Into Character” by Brandilyn Collins

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