Andrew Michael Miller's Thought Backlog
Writer and working Agile professional. Author of Pancho's Fall.
As the people of the White Walled City expanded outward after the First Son's crusade to end the demonic presence throughout the land, the ancient walls that would form the basis of today's major cities were not the only relics reclaimed from the ruins. Tucked away deep within the vaults of the major cities where they were protected from time and the elements, there were many scrolls and tomes that held various information relevant to ancient times, before the Fall of Man. While some have been loosely translated from the various ancient tongues, there are many texts that still to this day have not been translated, despite the best efforts of modern researchers. What knowledge lies within these mysterious tomes may well be considered lost as time rolls forward.
Have you ever noticed how similar characters can be to other characters you've read or watched in other stories? Sometimes, we watch a movie or read a book and we barely come into contact with a character before we already know exactly what that character is all about. Why is that? In human nature, there are certain emotions and other commonalities that span through all societies that are instantly recognizable. When storytellers present us with certain triggers, such as the existence of a hunky small town bad boy love interest for our Hallmark big city girl who doesn't realize just what she's missing in life yet, we respond by not questioning who these people are because we're already well-conditioned to the type of people they are.
Have you ever had the creative urge to write, but don't have any solid ideas at the time? One of the most difficult parts of writing is the conceptualization stage, when you start deciding what kind of story you want to write. We tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves to be original. Often, we want to say something unique to ourselves as individuals when we write. We worry that the things we write will just be a re-hashing of the stories we've already told. We want to try something new, but all too often, we worry that we will just end up sticking to the same genres, the same themes, the same structure. How can we overcome this mental block and get back to our "zone" when writing? One way you can do it is by challenging yourself with writing prompts.
In all forms of character writing, be it stage plays, screen plays, novels, video games or any other kind of medium where two different characters converse with one another, massive potential exists for fantastic dialogue. The act of putting two characters in the same space and seeing how they react to each other is the heart of good drama. When well-written characters who have their own histories, personalities, attitudes, strengths and weaknesses enter into a conversation with another character with a different background, there lies a great opportunity for a good scene. What makes the scene more powerful is when the characters have their own individual goals for the conversation. This is where we as writers really get to prove that we know our characters inside and out. Here are some things to consider when writing dialogue.
