Writing Dialogue
by Tom Chiarella
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Book Summary Information
Author: Tom ChiarellaEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998-02-15
ISBN: 1884910327
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Story Press
Book Reviews of Writing Dialogue
Book Review: Tag..You're It!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book puts you right in the action, enabling your dialogues' grammar to be correct and convincing. Although one can observe correct dialogue format from examples in professionally written stories, the author clarifies formatting techniques with concrete examples. He proceeds with a broad discussion of the use of dialogue tags, (he said, she said), giving advise of when to us them and when not to use them, again drawing upon examples to make his points clear. I really have to admire the way he organizes his concepts with respect to engaging characters' dialogue. Again, he further develops unique tags appropriate to certain situations. For example, in the developed narrative, a woman arrives at a room to find her boyfriend engaged in intimacy with another woman. "Oh, my God!" she screams, stepping back, covering her mouth with her hand. He compares this kind of situation to a less effective one. (I made this one up because I don't want to spoil the read.)
He intimates the importance of holding off information in order to create a certain mood. Again, he does this with incredible examples. A significant discussion addresses silence. Imagine watching a movie in which the characters are engaged in a riveting situation in which no dialogue takes place. So, what is it that rivets you? He explores this area with finesse, illustrating how silence can be used to build tension.
One of the most clever things he uses to illustrate technique concerns his description of using indirect language. A man enters a room in which he wants to tell the other character, turn the radio down. However, if the character said that in dialogue, it would be too commonplace and, hence, not so interesting to the reader. Using an indirect approach, he might say something like, When's the last time you cleaned your ears? (I have used my own example again to keep from spoiling Tom Chiarella's wonderful examples.) In Chapter Two, he speaks about The Direction of Dialogue. He provides a little discussion about each aspect, including: tension in dialogue, directed dialogue, interpolated dialogue, misdirected dialogue, modulated dialogue, providing neat exercises at the end of the chapter.
Anyone serious about mastering the art of writing dialogue must read this book. It goes beyond enlightenment, it directs a writer to a plan of action that will make his prose come to life.
Summary of Writing Dialogue
Characters need to speak to each other, but writers often have trouble crafting dialogue that sounds aut hentic and original. Whether it''s an argument or a love scen e, Chiarella demonstrates how to write exchanges that sound realistic. 'Art History Books
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