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The Writer's Compass » Entries tagged with "dialogue"

Writing Dialogue

Good dialogue can be difficult to write. One of the exercises that I recommend is to go places where people are gathered and sit and make notes on what they say, how they say it, and what they leave unsaid. You’ll notice that by the tone or by what is left unsaid, you can tell what the dynamics are between two people. Body language helps get the message across. “Yeah, you’re so smart.” What did I mean by that? My tone and body language will tell you if that’s a compliment or an insult. Since the reader can’t see the speakers, you can add body movements that correspond to the dialogue to give more meaning. Also, the way the other person responds tells you how they took it, regardless of how the … Read entire article »

Filed under: Becoming A Writer, About Writing, Featured

Writing Essentials Guest Blog

Morgen Bailey, a writer who supports writers with interviews and guest blogs on her sites, has written a guest blog for me at nancyellendodd.com called “Writing Essentials.” Morgen lives in the UK and is a prolific writer. One of the things she excels at is creating a writing presence on the web. She has turned her success into a new business helping others to create their own blog sites. Her article can be found at http://nancyellendodd.wordpress.com/2012/05/13/writing-essentials-from-morgen-bailey/. Morgen Bailey morgen@morgenbailey.com http://morgenbailey.wordpress.com http://icanbuildyourwritingblog.wordpress.com   By the way, she has an interview with me posted at http://morgensauthorinterviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/author-interview-no37-nancy-dodd.html. … Read entire article »

Filed under: About Writing

Dialogue, Pacing, and Tension

Dialogue, Pacing, and Tension

How much dialogue should be used compared to how much narrative or exposition? In stories, the more dialogue and the less narrative or exposition, the faster the pacing. This is one of the reasons that action shots in a screenplay should be shorter and in a play there should be very little to nothing between lines of dialogue, in these forms the story should be a fast read with just enough imagery for the reader to visualize … Read entire article »

Filed under: The 7 Stage Process, About Writing, Writing Exercises

The 7 Stage Process

The 7 Stage Process

Developing the 7 Stages   The 7-Stage process systematically develops a story one level at a time, every stage building on the last. Each stage focuses on an area of development that works through key obstacles to create a strong story. Charting the essential elements of storytelling with your ideas across a story map lays the foundation for your story. Progressing systematically through each stage helps you develop your story with the least number of revisions. The 7 … Read entire article »

Filed under: The 7 Stage Process, Featured