Lit Dialog

[sr71plt]

Online arguments are like the Special Olympics: the winners are still retards.

Hmmm. That was crassly insensitive. So, so far on the thread, I think you own the boobie prize. I don't remember you posting anything that insensitive before.

 

[Serafina1210]

I get it! This thread is dramatizing how not to do dialog. Brilliantly done, everyone!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I get it! This thread is dramatizing how not to do dialog. Brilliantly done, everyone!

Get off my lawn.

 

[patientlee]

"Get off my lawn,"

said Mr. Wilson.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

said Mr. Wilson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NelBNtNm8l0

THIS

 

[patientlee]

http://youtu.be/QHHd9-2B_k0

Sorry. Didn't hear you.

 

[TxRad]

Speaking of retards, pay a visit to your dictionary and see if theres a difference between argument and quarrel.

With you Jimmy, not so much.

Another lackluster, hey look at me thread.

 

[Hypoxia]

Hmmm. That was crassly insensitive. So, so far on the thread, I think you own the boobie prize. I don't remember you posting anything that insensitive before.

It's an old old net meme. It is ironic. That is all.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

It's an old old net meme. It is ironic. That is all.

Ironic my ass, youre a passive-aggressive lil shit who one-bombs late at night. To be first I imagine.

 

[TxRad]

Ironic my ass, youre a passive-aggressive lil shit who one-bombs late at night. To be first I imagine.

And you know this how?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

And you know this how?

I watched him do it.

 

[Hypoxia]

JBJ is no longer amusing. Bye now.

 

[TxRad]

JBJ is no longer amusing. Bye now.

He is only amusing to some because they are not his target.

 

[lovecraft68]

Online arguments are like the Special Olympics: the winners are still retards.

Makes sense in this scenario for sure

 

[lovecraft68]

I get it! This thread is dramatizing how not to do dialog. Brilliantly done, everyone!

Actually its showing realistic dialogue because half of it does not make sense, just like real life conversations.

 

[lovecraft68]

He is only amusing to some because they are not his target.

No, I've been his target off and on for 4 years depending on his mood. Somehow I survive. Guess I'm just not a whiny Diva like others around here.

 

[lovecraft68]

I think dialogue is like everything else. There is no set perfect method and you learn as you go. The dialogue in my stuff from the last few months is far better than what I did here my first year. Just have to keep working at it.

 

[ILienBagby]

What I learned today

Let's look at this thread as if were dialogue in a story to see what it tells us. (1) Character:There is a whole lot of disassociated anger and hostility leaking out of nearly every bit of talk here. (2) Plot: Some where along the thread, the subject of effective dialogue writing got lost or forgotten, and, for certain, did not get advanced. (3) Reflecting reality: When many voices join in on a specific topic with no controlling order, what we get is a cacophony of confusion and muddled voice with no, absolutely no advice offered (except the negative advice that this has not been a very constructive way to write dialogue in an actual story.)

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Let's look at this thread as if were dialogue in a story to see what it tells us. (1) Character:There is a whole lot of disassociated anger and hostility leaking out of nearly every bit of talk here. (2) Plot: Some where along the thread, the subject of effective dialogue writing got lost or forgotten, and, for certain, did not get advanced. (3) Reflecting reality: When many voices join in on a specific topic with no controlling order, what we get is a cacophony of confusion and muddled voice with no, absolutely no advice offered (except the negative advice that this has not been a very constructive way to write dialogue in an actual story.)

What it says is this thread is a good template for a story about group therapy if you wanna write about group therapy. Its stochastic mechanics in the raw.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

No, I've been his target off and on for 4 years depending on his mood. Somehow I survive. Guess I'm just not a whiny Diva like others around here.

I'll send the wounded warriors over to powder your fragile ass and kiss it.

 

[slyc_willie]

Whether or not it's too late to bring this thread back on track . . . .

The tricky thing about dialogue is that you can't write dialogue exactly the way people speak. Like sr and a few others have said, real dialogue is a mis-mash of half-finished thoughts, mispronunciations, repetitive language, jumbled metaphors and non-verbal cues. It's practically impossible to render "real" dialogue in a story, because it really wouldn't make much sense.

So writing good dialogue comes down to striking a balance between the Queen's English and the layman's babble. This is where artful use of contractions, compound words, and a conservative sprinkling of "ums" and ellipses come into play. It ain't easy, and the funny thing is that when it's done well, you don't notice it until you read it with an eye for detail.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2012/12/words-as-weapons.html

 

[patientlee]

My current favorite song. Seether- Words as Weapons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2jApSztUWA&sns=em

 

[slyc_willie]

My thinking is that "words as weapons" is too easy. It doesn't take an artful orator to hurt someone else with speech. It just takes a combination of verve, luck and timing.

Now, "words as control" . . . that's the real power. Show me Churchill, Hitler, Stalin, Kennedy, Reagan . . . it's not just the power of words, but their delivery.

 

[sr71plt]

Apples and Kumquats on that article of JBJ's in relation to this thread. That's about movie dialogue that includes body language and voice inflection. You don't get those two helpful dimensions in written dialogue--so it's an entirely different animal. A scriptwriter can't just go with the dialogue from a book manuscript and vice versa.