Subscribe to one of Suzanne's online bookclubs and receive her daily
column at: DearReader.com
Sample Suzanne's book at:
Muffins and Mayhem, Recipes for a Happy (if disorderly) Life
AUTHORBUZZ: Discover new books, "meet" the authors and enter to win: Goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
Dear Reader,
Once a week I'm answering questions about writing. Whether you'd like to publish a book, or if you're just writing for fun--go ahead--ask away! I'm looking forward to reading your question and publishing a reply in my column. Submit your questions to: Suzanne@Emailbookclub.com
"Dear Suzanne, I have the stories in my head, and can act them out in my mind, but I don't know how to do the dialogue between the characters, without going crazy with quote marks, when I go to write it all down. Do you have to put everything in quotes when two characters are talking, or is there another way to present the story?" -- Dorie
(Suzanne replies:) Reading your question reminded me of my "first time"--the first time I had to write dialogue and use quote marks. I'd just finished interviews for a magazine article I was working on, and when I started typing my notes, suddenly it dawned on me that I didn't know how to use quotation marks. What to do?
Most of my solutions to problems involve using common sense and I admire other people who use the same no-frills approach. For instance, NASA spent bundles of time and money developing a pen that would write upside down in space. The Russians sent their crew up with pencils. My kind of problem-solving.
Since my article was due the next day, I needed an immediate solution to my problem. So I decided to take a bubble bath and read through a Time magazine, carefully noting the various placement of quotation marks in sentences.
It worked. My final draft was barely touched by the editor's pen. And yes, you can "quote" me on that.
It's a cute story and it's true. But I realize that writing dialogue is tricky. A reader shouldn't be thinking about the "he said, she said" when they're reading. The conversation needs to flow naturally. There are books and classes, but my suggestion is to use one of your favorite books as a learning tool. You've read it once for enjoyment, now go back and study it for style and quotation marks. I do that with old sitcoms, like Frasier. The first-time through is for enjoyment and laughs, the second time around, I'm studying the setup of the jokes and admiring how talented the writer was.
Practice writing conversations between characters, then read your work aloud. Listen to the flow. If you stumble, so will the reader. But not to worry, I'm sure you can do it, and you can "quote" me on that, too!
Don't forget to enter this year's Write a Dear Reader Contest. It's simply writing for fun, and you could win an Amazon Kindle, $50 gift cards to your favorite bookstore, and the winning entries will be published in my Dear Reader column and at BookTrib. For all the details, goto: http://tinyurl.com/WADR2011
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
http://www.muffinsandmayhem.com/
AUTHORBUZZ: An invitation to meet authors--send an email, ask a question and they will reply. Plus every author this week is giving away free autographed books. Click on the link below and say hello to this week's authors.
THE GRIEF OF OTHERS by Leah Hager Cohen
THICK AS THIEVES by Peter Spiegelman
COMMUNE OF WOMEN by Suzan Still
LOT'S RETURN TO SODOM by Sandra Brannan
KILLING KATE by Julie Kramer
Go to: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
* To read more about LOT'S RETURN TO SODOM, and to enter this author's signed book giveaway, click on the link below, then click on LOT'S RETURN TO SODOM.
Sandra Brannan, today's featured author, writes...
Liv Bergen returns home to the Black Hills of South Dakota to prove her brother's innocence--even when she herself becomes prey for those with murder on their minds. Things get a little gritty in this inside look at motorcycle gangs and their connection with the Annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
To read more about LOT'S RETURN TO SODOM goto: http://authorbuzz.com/dearreader
* This month's Penguin Classics book is CELESTINA by Fernando De Rojas. Start reading now and enter to win a Penguin totebag. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/July11Classics
Comments