Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! I'm beginning to wonder if anyone is there. I'd love to answer questions and offer my help. It doesn't hurt to ask. Give me a try. If you don't care for my answers or help... there's no harm.
Have happy writing New Year and...just tell the story!
Oops! I've just learned that there's been a problem with my web page. It seems I can't receive comments or questions. What a bummer. The good news is that the issue should be resolved shortly so, if you have any thoughts please fire away.
In the mean time, someone recently asked me an excellent question about writing dialogue: When writing a character's dialogue what kinds of factors should be considered? There's not a simple answer to this question but (personally) I like to incorporate as many factors as I can when writing how a character might speak. Here are some things to consider: dialect, social class, ethnicity, sex, education, age, the time period you're writing in, physical or psychological issues, and personality. The list could be extended even further, but these are the factors I begin with.
DIALECT - This may be one of the most difficult elements to tackle when writing character dialogue. We have become such a mobile society that oftentimes our speech will vary simply because we've lived in so many different places. I'm also amused when someone tells me they have no accent. We ALL have accents, some are just a bit more subtle than others. I grew up in Kansas and was certain I spoke without an accent, but it wasn't true. And, by the way, someone from rural Kansas has a different speech pattern than someone raised in an urban setting in Kansas. (Yes, there are cities in Kansas.) Depending on what you're writing you don't need to be preoccupied with getting a dialect exactly correct, but a hint of a specific speech pattern can go a long way toward making a character sound more authentic.
SOCIAL CLASS - I should begin by saying I hate stereotypes; however, they exist. In my every day life I try to look at the individual. I don't always have that luxury when I'm writing. Unfortunately someone raised in poverty may not have been given the same educational opportunities as someone who comes from great wealth, and education can (and does) influence our speech. What I do like to do is to tweak this a bit to contradict the stereotype.
ETHNICITY - This can also be a sensitive area and stereotypes can again pop up. I suppose I consider myself a liberal or progressive (politically), but I try not to allow my personal values to influence my writing. My goal is to stay as true to my characters as possible and if that means a character speaks almost as a stereotype...so be it.
SEX - Yes, it's true, men and women speak differently. AND they speak differently when they're among one another than they might when they are amongst themselves. So, can men write for women and can women write for men? Absolutely. But be careful, guys...you might end up shaving your legs before you go to bed tonight.
EDUCATION - Our education clearly affects how we speak. Even what we've studied may influence how we talk. During my years of acting I took speech classes in an attempt to rid myself of my Kansas accent. I was relatively successful. Of course whenever I go back to visit family or friends I will often slip back into old speech patterns when I'm surrounded by the sounds of my youth.
AGE - This is definitely a huge factor in speech. Jargon changes with the times. Back in the sixties you could be "feelin' groovy". Say that today and you'll just sound like an old timer. There's a lyric to an old song where a group of women get together to gossip and the phrase used was..."dish with the girls." When I heard a young teenager confront a friend with..."don't you dis me." I was totally confused until I learned that "dis" was short for disrespect. There is one element of speech in our modern age of communication that I find distressing--text messaging. I'm terrified that language is being slowly and sadly eroded. Even my friends use it and I have to ask them not to. It simply takes me too long to decode all of the initials...OMG.
TIME PERIOD - When someone reads Shakespeare they often complain that he doesn't seem to be writing in English. Ah, but he was...it's just that English was spoken differently back in his day. And there was a time when contractions were not used that often. If you're writing a "period piece", do your research. How we speak constantly changes with the times.
PHYSICAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS - Does a character speak with a lisp? Do you want to write a character who has Tourette's Syndrome? Does your character hear voices or speak in tongues? Does your character stutter? One of the most fascinating things I ever heard was country/western singer Mel Tillis. When he spoke he had a distinct stutter. When he sang he had NO stutter. No there's an interesting character!
PERSONALITY - Someone who is incredibly shy might speak differently than someone who is outgoing. Our personality can be a major factor in how we speak.
I'm not suggesting you need be totally accurate when writing dialogue, but the more specific you are the stronger your material will be and it's more likely to pop off the page. Of course the most important element IS the story so, remember...just tell the story.
I've recently taken note of the fact that I've had approximately 150 visitors to my site. One of the reasons I wanted to have a blog on my web site was to allow for comments and questions. I didn't establish my web page solely for the purpose of making money. My biggest desire is to offer possible insights and suggestions that might help others with their writing.
I have been fortunate enough in my career to have had some wonderful mentors. I was able to renew one of those relationships this past week when I met with Larry Moss in San Francisco for dinner. Larry was in the city to conduct one of his wonderful acting seminars. Meeting with Larry reminded me of just how valuable getting great advice can be.
With the above in mind I want to encourage anyone who might visit my web page to share your thoughts, ideas, and questions with me. You may not agree with all of my suggestions and that's fine...even healthy, but don't be afraid to ask me anything you like regarding writing. Once I've shared my thoughts, feel free to use what you can and discard the rest.
Whether you ask for MY advice or not is really not relevant. What is important is that you not make the mistake I made early in my career. Out of the arrogance of youth I either refused advice or assumed I had all the answers. I was wrong. There was so much I had to learn and that I continue to learn. So, allow me to help you if I can or seek out the advice and council of someone you respect. You won't be sorry.
P.S. If you have the chance, go see the film "Everybody's Fine." It was a wonderful film, with some delightful surprises. It was also VERY smartly written. It could have easily become overly sentimental, but the writer didn't allow that to happen. There is one clever ploy in the script that I found very insightful regarding a certain kind of parent/child relationship. Rather than tell you what it was...go see the film yourself and tell me if you notice what I'm referring to. In the meantime...just tell the story.