Category: dialogue

  • Friday’s Findings: The Recipe for Interiority

    Friday’s Findings: The Recipe for Interiority

    There’s this new term I’ve come across in the fiction craft world: interiority. I had never heard of it until last year when I took Mary Kole’s online class called Crafting Dynamic Characters. Great class. As far as using it as a writing craft term, I don’t know who coined interiority, but Kole built her…

  • Say It Aloud

    Say It Aloud

    “If you’re using dialogue, say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.” -John Steinbeck  Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-woman-using-laptop-4051170/ My Linktree

  • Friday’s Findings: Punctuating Inner Monologue

    Friday’s Findings: Punctuating Inner Monologue

    For a while now, I have been trying to navigate the way to format and punctuate inner dialogue. I’m always asking myself Am I doing this right? when I’m creating a scene. So, I decided to do a little deep dive into unlocking the minds of my characters. Or to be more specific, how to…

  • Friday’s Findings: Getting Closer to the Readers

    Friday’s Findings: Getting Closer to the Readers

    Lately, I’ve discovered a principle about writing. Too get closer to the reader, that is, to make the reader feel like they are connection to the characters, I review a scene to make sure there is just the right amount of internal monologue. Internal monologue can help in several ways. Besides helping the reader connect…

  • Friday’s Findings: Plot and Story

    Friday’s Findings: Plot and Story

    I’ve been trying to wrap my head around the concepts of the difference between plot and story. The simplest, bare-bones definitions is this: plot is what happens on the surface and story is what happens on the inside. Plot is the physical action and events. Story is the internal thoughts, themes and conflicts of the…

  • Friday’s Findings: The Perfect Story?

    Friday’s Findings: The Perfect Story?

    This week, I came across some articles that go over the basics of fiction: story elements, types of characters and the three act story structure. I also came across Writer’s Digest’s 50 best websites for writers in 2023. Elements of Fiction: A Quick Guide to Writing the Perfect Story – Kotobee Blog A refresher on…

  • Put Butt in Chair to Find Your Voice

    Put Butt in Chair to Find Your Voice

    Last year I took an online course with Writing Mastery Academy called Crafting Dynamic Characters. The instructor was Mary Kole, an editor. One thing I’ve realized with Writing Mastery Academy courses is that they always end up being way more than I expected. The same can be said about Crafting Dynamic Characters. I thought it…

  • Friday’s Findings: Discovering Flannery O’Connor

    Friday’s Findings: Discovering Flannery O’Connor

    A couple months ago, my supervisor came into the office excited about a movie being filmed in town. Ethan Hawke had been spotted by the local paper at various locations: the zoo, Old Louisville, and nearby small towns. “He’s filming and directing a movie about Flannery O’Connor,” my boss exclaimed. She loves O’Connor’s short stories.…

  • NaNoWriMo Day 22: Starting with dialogue

    NaNoWriMo Day 22: Starting with dialogue

    When I start a scene, if I’m not sure what to write to start things off, I go to my default: dialogue. Then I add in some physical actions followed by interior thoughts and emotions. Then I layer in some description – I make sure the reader knows what the characters look like as close…