Conversations

From the few people who’ve read my books, I always hear the comment that I do conversations between characters well, which I take as a serious compliment. Conversation is easy for me to construct, while others may find it difficult.  My downfall tends to be descriptions, which is why I tend to drift toward Sudden Fiction in my writing. Anyway, back to writing conversation.

My secret to writing conversation begins with solid character development. When developing a story, I create my characters with primary and secondary traits such as stubbornness, righteousness, boldness, submissiveness, intelligence, logical, emotional, intuitive, etc… These basic character traits allow me to set my mind when entering into a conversation by taking on those traits to the extreme in every spoken word or unspoken word.

For example, a person with a primary characteristic of ‘emotional’ and secondary trait of ‘stubborn’ will tend to base arguments more on body language and implied meaning than what is actually said. Also, the character will not think about what is said, but rather respond immediately based on how he/she feels. That character will also latch on to the most impactful word and stick with the feelings that person feels based on that single word. In addition, the person will not be swayed easily, especially with logic. In counterpoint, an intuitive character will realize this and try to carefully steer the conversation away from points that will stir an emotional response.

The point of all this is to think of the character’s every response from these simple qualities. Some people call it ‘keeping in character’, but that is often hard to do effectively, especially when there are many characters in a book. For every book, I create a cheat-sheet of character names, ages, background information on the character, and most importantly, their qualities. If you’re wondering why I do age and background, here’s why: A person’s age indicates the period of time in which they grew up thus providing whether their background was in the ‘free love’ movement or as opposition to a war or even a video game addict from the late 1990’s. All this helps create the picture of who the person is and I can always resume the character easily even if I haven’t written a page of the story in months.

The other trick I use is to write the conversation as it happens within my mind and then go back and add in content and thoughts afterwards, possibly clarifying why a person would respond the way he/she has. A lot of times, after adding this content, I also find that I need to alter the conversation slightly because a response might drift too far away from the character’s qualities or further points need to be added to ensure the flow is correct. The trick is to try to not overthink the conversation between characters, but to just think as the character would naturally.

I hope this helps.

Next Week: Jeremiah Stone

Fiction vs Sudden Fiction

If I was to consider what style of writing I use I’d have to say Sudden Fiction. Now those not familiar with this style may wonder what the difference is between Fiction and Sudden Fiction, and I would say the answer is in the details. Okay, that’s a pun, but it’s true. Sudden Fiction lacks detail, lets the mind of the reader create the scene, and fills in the details as the scene plays out. By doing this the action begins almost immediately while allowing the experiences and imagination of the reader build the rest. For example, here is an illustration of the difference.

“A chill gust of wind picked up a week-old section of the want ads blowing it past the peeling poster of Marilyn Monroe and a dozen other has-been movie stars.  It was only one of a hundred pieces of trash strewn throughout the front of the rundown movie theater, but it was easy to see why. Each wintery blasts of air across the semi-circled receiving area creating a whirlwind sucking in every piece of free floating debris while only letting a few from its icy grasp stacking garage in every nook and cranny available. It was disgusting, but then so was Justin.

His tall lanky form, unwashed hair, layered clothing, ripped jeans, and worn untied Converse high-tops exactly mimicked the grunge look created by Kurt Cobain, though his look was a deep contrast to who he was. Beyond the shaggy exterior, the billionaire web-designer had a mind like a steel trap and an investment strategy which took millions from Wall Street before his secret identity got traced back to him. Even then there were those with doubts he was the mastermind behind it all, but that was years ago. Still, as if he’d never left his teenage years, his boyish looks belied the calculating man inside. Because of that, Christina was stunned he’d called her after all this time, let alone want to meet her here.

Unlike Justin, Christina’s attire spoke money, though it was money she didn’t necessarily have anymore. Whereas Justin’s wealth had increased, her law firm had run onto hard times, though it didn’t stop her from looking the part of a high-priced lawyer. In fact her tailored navy-blue pin-stripe suite skirt with frilled white blouse, red leather pumps with matching Coach purse, and three carat diamond engagement ring probably cost more than any of the local tenants yearly wages. Had it not been for her mannequin-stiff body, taunt jaw-line, and dead cold stare, she would’ve been a prime target for a mugging in this neighborhood.

As Justin drifted out of the shadows closer to her, she could see the sagging dark circles around his eyes in the meager light of the single shorting-out bulb randomly strobing the theater entrance.

“What the hell happened to you,” she questioned, instantly losing her air of importance as concern filled her being. This was not the man whose financials indicated he should not have a care in the world. And she’d checked those financials moments after she’d hung up from his call last night.”

Now the Sudden Fiction version of the same meeting.

“Torn movie posters, cracked sidewalks, and scattered, wind-blown trash were his only company until he saw her approach. It was easy to tell she was in the wrong part of town, though he called this area home despite his wealth. Then, as she neared, her body stiff with irritation probably due to the location, he stepped out of the darkened movie theater entrance allowing someone he was not completely familiar with into his presence. And obviously his appearance was not what she anticipated.

“What the hell happened to you,” she questioned, her body loosening with each syllable.”

This is the same scene portraying nearly the same feeling, but with only a quarter of the words used. On top of that the reader is thrown into the action, the desperation, and the concern almost instantly. Where the story goes doesn’t matter, only that the scene is set within the readers mind, pictured perfectly because the reader’s interpretation is rarely wrong, and even then only after the movie has come out.

Now to end this introspective view into my writing, I defend my literary style by saying this. I have an overactive imagination. I see what I write in every detail, imagining everything down to the texture and grain of the wood. What I can’t adequately detail is whether the reader knows the difference between oak or pine, rough or course, and dark tan or light brown. Therefore, I leave those details up to the reader’s imagination by simply saying an ‘aged wooden pole’. Besides, in my opinion, the story should stand without those details.

The genre of Romance

So I've been asked to do a few things in my writing which always and completely throws me for a loop. The first odd thing I've been asked to do is write something out of genre for me. Seeing as my writing tends to drift towards the fantasy with godly overtones, something out of the norm would truly be a romance novel. I took this request with a laugh, a groan, and then a long exhalation as I contemplated what I actually know about romance. Granted, I'm a bit old fashioned in my thinking, and I've offered a few explicit suggestions to a friends erotica novel, but real romance... nothing. Furthermore, most of the women I portray in my books are strong characters, not lovey-dovey. Adding to all this, I have no idea how women think, so how could I possibly write a romance novel. Nevertheless, I took the challenge anyway.

I began by trying to do something different with the romance novel, which is to base it from a man's point of view (and I tried to keep it PG rated). Seeing as I really only know one guy intimately (myself), I could only take my own perspective when dealing with women. And in the end, after my journey of self-discovery was complete, I think I have something clever, engaging, and heartfelt. My only problem now is being brave enough to let someone else read it when I know it's (almost) me at every turn of the page. Maybe one day I'll publish it (if I ever run out of other things to write and need just one more book out there)... lol - not happening. At least not in the near future.

Blogging

So I have two blogs now and I really wonder how I have the patience to set both up. This is not as easy as it looks and it giving me a headache. Of course, I stare at the screen all day at work so this is so repetitious I can barely concentrate. Someone please give me strength to carry on. LOL

Wishes do come true...

So after years of writing I finally believe I’ve made the single move that will eventually get me my wish and hopefully a fan or two, though its still a long road ahead of me. Thankfully, my motivation to write in not quenched. With 14 novels completed, I still have 2 more in the works and 2 more I’m contemplating. Also, I just completed a fourth novel in my primary series bringing it to a close for now, though I can see the series continuing in a new direction. That’s a long way off, but the more I think on it the more I’m sure I can find an action pack adventure for the newest character, or even the darkest one. The good thing, I’m refreshed, positive, and the words are flowing. I hope they remain that way.