"Remember that you should be able to identify each character by what he or she says. Each one must sound different from the others. And they should not all sound like you." --ANNE LAMOTTIn comments, feel free to share ONE line of dialogue that you feel is telling of your character. I can't wait to read your lines.
Buffy, I'm not a novel writer, but as a reader, this drives me crazy. When the characters all sound similar, I have to go back deliberately through the thread of dialogue and find out who is saying what sometimes. That completely pulls me out of reading and is definitely a peeve. On the other hand, I can't imagine being a novel writer and I know crafting distinct dialogue is easier said than done! Thanks for the great quote :)
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Thanks Marissa for commenting. It's definitely a challenge, but one that I love to undertake. I'm learning all of the time. When I look back at dialogue I wrote, say, five years ago, or, heck, last year, I cringe. I am learning and growing all of the time. That's what's so much fun about this adventure. As an aside, I hope you and Martina visit my other blog on social media. I would love to see you there from time to time. http://www.yorkblog.com/buffy/
ReplyDeleteGreat quote. And so true. I'm still working at making my characters sound different. But like you, I'm learning.
ReplyDeleteI write mostly non-fiction... I haven't seriously touched the fiction field because I think writing dialogue is too hard :) Great quote!
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