When I write dialog for a scene, I start with the dialog and leave out everything else. It really helps me focus on Just The Dialog without all the distracting actions and settings that would go along with the conversation.
This is a MASTERCLASS! Thank you so much!!! Could we get a "romance" edition? ("how to build romantic tension in dialogue?" as I think thats the most exciting part (at least for me)) I would paaaaay for thiiiiis!!!! :)))
Great vid. One note, though--skeleton keys aren't necessarily old. If this were taking place in a future with no physical keys or only keycards, then yeah, it would obviously be old, but a skeleton key just means a key made to fit multiple locks. It doesn't necessarily imply something old as they can be found in most key shapes.
Approx 22:40; seems like you guys don't fully comprehend what "dialogue tags" are. You seem to mix them up somewhat with "dialogue beats", that are actually a way of showing. And not a bad thing at all, when you don't overdo them. You're welcome.
Example of wrong character voice: Kate: Extensive, detailed outlines are SO key! Like, if you don’t have at least a 50,000 word outline, you might as well just chuck your story idea in the bin right now. I am VERY big on keeping rules and that’s a big one for me. It’s, honestly, my favorite part of the process though, so it’s an easy one to keep. Abbie: I don’t know… do outlines really matter though? I mean, I feel like outlines should be super minimal. Like, only be as long as your elevator pitch - that’s really all you need. Me, personally, I hate writing them so sometimes, I don’t even write one at all. I just surf that creative wave and see where it takes me. 😄
You just have to make everything a lie, they both say, and boom! Wrong cahracter voice 2.0: Abbie: Write what comes to mind, make characters, the plot does the rest for you🤣 Abbie's horribly wrong character voice in ONE SENTENCE: Story is about what happening, and NOT about why what's happening matters to the characters.
Being an visual artist, I really like how Kate used the painting analogy. The realizing the similarities between writing and visual art is what finally got me into writing. I also like Kate cutting dialog down to "Barebones" because it also help prioritize the focus. Excess dialog may be a result of not knowing the focus.
This is very good advice. Thanks. Like... Now I exactly know what to do. But... its hard :D and I can see these slowing descriptions after I wrote them and when I look back at what I wrote :D
Hi girls! I love writing dialogues, whenever I can I make characters interact: dialogue makes the story going forward, makes characters grows and I always prefer to give informations and providing history about the protagonist o the other character thru dialogue.
Kate you would be perfect to record an audiobook just like Abbie did!! I don’t know if you have a project like that, but your voice is so good with each character!
@@KAEmmons I agree about the examples. I'm so grateful that you demonstrated 2 ways to rewrite passages. I love examples. I agree with you, only after demonstrating, that the characters are more consistent in the rewrites. I hate James as a person, but I love his purpose as a character. The same goes with "I", but I like I's personality.
Ha! Another commenter here does the opposite. He starts with nothing but dialog. I gave you both an up vote. It seems starting with only 1 or only the other is the best way to start for most writers.
I usually write the all dialogue without tags, only with "Name: " before. Than I add some tags, action and descritions of the environment (if necessary). Thank you for the video! 😊
I started writing a story the other day and I have a section of dialogue that is a very quick and urgent exchange and I’m not a writer, this is my first attempt but adding in those dialogue tags felt clunky so I left them out. To me it’s clear who is talking but I wasn’t sure it was actually the way it should be done. I’m curious what people here think. The captain of the local garrison, having been alerted by a soldier on patrol, came out to meet the man as he fought to stop his mount. "Are you sure it's the Empress?", the captain asked with a hint of worry. "Yes!", gasped the man, "They're about two hours away." "Did you see how many there were?" "About fifty." "So, few? Cocky bastards."
When I read, I hear dialogue (and 1st person narration) in the character's voice. If there's a movie of it, I hear the actor's voice and often have trouble getting rid of it!
The first example lends a lot of atmosphere. The second is a skeleton. Perhaps there is a happy medium? Not everything is sound-bites. Read fine novels instead of just some flash-fiction. The thing is, you've chosen a piece that is suspenseful - so the more slowly you write/read, the more suspense it builds. This is not something that could be considered classic literature - shouldn't we be striving for this? The pro-tips are good but the writing itself is pretty basic.
Be sure to listen to the "in between" examples, friend! As we said, these are springboards for your OWN ideas, not set-in-stone guidelines. Find what works for you! Thanks for being here & for listening 🙏
Excellent, very helpful. Focusing on the most important part of the conversation so the story can move, sprinkling in some flavor... right on the money.
![Coheed and Cambria - Searching for Tomorrow [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/hDsYGLbmadg/mqdefault.jpg)
CHAPTERS:
00:19 Intro
07:08 Find The Focus
18:47 Using Tags
28:35 Character Voice
44:30 Final Pro Tip for Character Voice
This is your best episode yet. I really like this format showing us examples of good, bad, and mediocre writing.
SOOO thrilled you like this format and that it could serve! We want to do more episodes like this. Thank you for being here!
When I write dialog for a scene, I start with the dialog and leave out everything else. It really helps me focus on Just The Dialog without all the distracting actions and settings that would go along with the conversation.
That's a great idea! I just realized that if we can't keep track of the speaker, after we finish the draft, then we know where the tags are needed.
This is a MASTERCLASS! Thank you so much!!! Could we get a "romance" edition? ("how to build romantic tension in dialogue?" as I think thats the most exciting part (at least for me)) I would paaaaay for thiiiiis!!!! :)))
Yessss agreed
YES, omg that's such a good idea!!!😭😭
Great vid. One note, though--skeleton keys aren't necessarily old. If this were taking place in a future with no physical keys or only keycards, then yeah, it would obviously be old, but a skeleton key just means a key made to fit multiple locks. It doesn't necessarily imply something old as they can be found in most key shapes.
It's only when I struggle with something that Abbie and Kate are my heros dropping in right on time. 😍💕
Approx 22:40; seems like you guys don't fully comprehend what "dialogue tags" are. You seem to mix them up somewhat with "dialogue beats", that are actually a way of showing. And not a bad thing at all, when you don't overdo them. You're welcome.
Example of wrong character voice:
Kate: Extensive, detailed outlines are SO key! Like, if you don’t have at least a 50,000 word outline, you might as well just chuck your story idea in the bin right now. I am VERY big on keeping rules and that’s a big one for me. It’s, honestly, my favorite part of the process though, so it’s an easy one to keep.
Abbie: I don’t know… do outlines really matter though? I mean, I feel like outlines should be super minimal. Like, only be as long as your elevator pitch - that’s really all you need. Me, personally, I hate writing them so sometimes, I don’t even write one at all. I just surf that creative wave and see where it takes me.
😄
HAHAHA! This is the best! 🤣 you've got our voices nailed, Amy
@@KAEmmons 😄💜 Thanks, Kate!! ✨️
You just have to make everything a lie, they both say, and boom! Wrong cahracter voice 2.0: Abbie: Write what comes to mind, make characters, the plot does the rest for you🤣
Abbie's horribly wrong character voice in ONE SENTENCE: Story is about what happening, and NOT about why what's happening matters to the characters.
Being an visual artist, I really like how Kate used the painting analogy. The realizing the similarities between writing and visual art is what finally got me into writing. I also like Kate cutting dialog down to "Barebones" because it also help prioritize the focus. Excess dialog may be a result of not knowing the focus.
❤thanks for having such a great content for free ❤
👍🏻
Your first focus example actually made me want to read the entire book, you are that good!
This is very good advice. Thanks. Like... Now I exactly know what to do. But... its hard :D and I can see these slowing descriptions after I wrote them and when I look back at what I wrote :D
Hi girls! I love writing dialogues, whenever I can I make characters interact: dialogue makes the story going forward, makes characters grows and I always prefer to give informations and providing history about the protagonist o the other character thru dialogue.
Kate you would be perfect to record an audiobook just like Abbie did!! I don’t know if you have a project like that, but your voice is so good with each character!
Thank you so much for your kind words, friend!
I was thinking the same thing!
@@KAEmmons I agree with Monica about the audiobook. When you read, I visualized a teenage version of you acting in a movie version in this story.
i LOVE it when you show examples that you've written. It's my favorite type of episode!
Could say: guided only by moonlight. Or feeling our way, through the moonlit room. Love Fixer Upper show example!
The amount of preparation you did for this episode 😮 wow 💡 and thank you both so much!
Great examples. Very insightful and informative video. Will be a lot of help 👏👍
i struggle so much with dialogue but this breakdown made me excited to try it and go back to old docs and see how i can tight them up! great episode!
One of my favorite episodes so far!!! I LOVED the examples and the tips you gave, and that pro tip is genius. *goes off to try it*
Yayy! We are so happy you enjoyed it and that it could serve you! 🙏
@@KAEmmons I agree about the examples. I'm so grateful that you demonstrated 2 ways to rewrite passages. I love examples.
I agree with you, only after demonstrating, that the characters are more consistent in the rewrites. I hate James as a person, but I love his purpose as a character. The same goes with "I", but I like I's personality.
Thanks for thecexamples, much more interesting and helpful. ❤
Kate and Abbie's parents are blessed to have these two little angels as their daughters.... Welcome to India....Kate and Abbie ❤
Excellent presentation, ladies. Enjoyed the direct examples laying out the contrast.
Thanks for the video. ✌️
This was exceedingly helpful! And just what I needed. Thanks❤
This came out with Divine timing! It is what I'm working on in my story! Thank you, thank you!
awesome video thank you so much! this was incredibly helpful
I write the setting in the paragraph before the dialogue. Less confusion and the reader already has an image of the setting as characters speak.
Same. Sometimes i feel like im writing a script tho 😅
@@unknownunknown5244 Organization is very important when I write.
Ha! Another commenter here does the opposite. He starts with nothing but dialog. I gave you both an up vote.
It seems starting with only 1 or only the other is the best way to start for most writers.
❤❤nice amazing conversation
I usually write the all dialogue without tags, only with "Name: " before. Than I add some tags, action and descritions of the environment (if necessary).
Thank you for the video! 😊
That is brilliant! Thank you for sharing
Very valuable content. Thank you.
I really appreciate y’all! Thank you
Thanks for the informative examples on Dialogue.
This was so good. Thank you ladies.
Thank you so much for the video, very interesting
This was incredibly helpful! Thanks so much! :)
I started writing a story the other day and I have a section of dialogue that is a very quick and urgent exchange and I’m not a writer, this is my first attempt but adding in those dialogue tags felt clunky so I left them out. To me it’s clear who is talking but I wasn’t sure it was actually the way it should be done. I’m curious what people here think.
The captain of the local garrison, having been alerted by a soldier on patrol, came out to meet the man as he fought to stop his mount. "Are you sure it's the Empress?", the captain asked with a hint of worry. "Yes!", gasped the man, "They're about two hours away." "Did you see how many there were?" "About fifty." "So, few? Cocky bastards."
When I read, I hear dialogue (and 1st person narration) in the character's voice. If there's a movie of it, I hear the actor's voice and often have trouble getting rid of it!
Same here!!
Please could you do something about whether a book needs a villain. My novel (in production) has lots of conflict but there's no villain.
Ladies you should create a how to write a novel course! Pleeease! 😆
I guess I need this video because I'm really struggling to agree with your central point.
haha mini art tutorial u guys r the best
May have your schedule of both of you 😉🤠
Turkish subtitle please
It's a shame the text is not properly punctuated with indents. That is so important to clarity to the narrative and the concept of turn taking.
The first example lends a lot of atmosphere. The second is a skeleton. Perhaps there is a happy medium? Not everything is sound-bites. Read fine novels instead of just some flash-fiction. The thing is, you've chosen a piece that is suspenseful - so the more slowly you write/read, the more suspense it builds. This is not something that could be considered classic literature - shouldn't we be striving for this? The pro-tips are good but the writing itself is pretty basic.
Be sure to listen to the "in between" examples, friend! As we said, these are springboards for your OWN ideas, not set-in-stone guidelines. Find what works for you! Thanks for being here & for listening 🙏
Didn't you see that they did show the third example which was like an in-between??
Every freedom-lover who thinks this is okay, will get to contribute in the same way every time there is a problem.
Any Emmons women not have a voice I could fall for?
Excellent, very helpful. Focusing on the most important part of the conversation so the story can move, sprinkling in some flavor... right on the money.