Writing Descriptions

The dialogue always comes early.

For me, that is.

I always hear the conversations my characters have in my head first and foremost. Writing the in-between--what's happening outside the conversation--has always been a bit harder.

So if you're anything like me and aren't always sure what to include between the conversations in your fiction, here are a few options:

What the character is doing.

Conversations rarely exist in a vacuum. We're most likely conversing while performing other tasks (washing the dishes, walking to work, re-stocking that shelf, etc.), so consider where your characters are and the activity they're engaged in while talking. Give us hints at how the activity is progressing. 

What the character is thinking/feeling. 

We rarely say what we mean. What does your character think about what's being relayed? This is a great place to add some conflict. For instance, maybe your main character agrees to meet with someone at another time, pretending she's okay with this, when she's actually suppressing her disappointment. Give us those inner thoughts. Show us the contrast between her expectations versus reality, or what she's predicting will happen.

What people are doing around them.

What does your character notice about the activities taking place around them? What (or who) is grabbing at their attention? Don't toss random associations into your descriptions--if a character sees something worth mentioning, it should mean something. Still, this is a great way to fill the space between your spoken words.

Backstory.

Is there an important piece of backstory that can be imparted during this conversation? Is there something about the past the character remembers, or a revelation she's having? Since backstory shouldn't be info-dumped into a single location, use conversations as a natural way to intersperse past (relevant) events into the present story.

Location.

Similar to noting what the character sees happening around her, what does the space look like? Are they in a garden or walking along a city street? Working in a kitchen at the back of a restaurant? What are the sights, sounds, and smells associated with this place? Toss in a few specific details to ground your reader within the setting as you move the conversation along.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Again, it's worth noting that every description included in a passage should be pertinent or important in some way. 

Also, keep in mind that balance is needed when interspersing these details, especially when they occur in the middle of a conversation. The reader needs enough information to gain a solid image of the time and place, but not so much that it takes over what's being said by the characters.

The perfect melding of description and dialogue, of course, will come with time and practice, so Get Writing. :D 

And always. . . . 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Five Rules . . . from Alice Hoffman

 The Five Most Important Rules When Writing a Novel:

Write the book you want to read, not the book you think they want you to publish.

Don’t edit yourself until it’s time to edit.

If you stop writing after you are rejected, you will never get published.

If you keep writing after you are rejected, you never know what will happen.

Write with your whole heart.

Photo by freestocks.org from Pexels

~Alice Hoffman~

What Should I Write About?

An idea that excites you. 

Let's be real: you'll be reading this book a lot. And I mean . . . A LOT. If it's going to bore you, it's going to bore your reader. And since you're going to be investing the next three, six, nine, and/or twelve months of your life on this one story, it should be a good one. 

Something that piques your curiosity.

What's a topic you're interested in learning more about? And this doesn't only apply to non-fiction writers. Fiction writers: what setting and emotions do you want to dive into? What ideas and themes do you want to explore?

Stories are everywhere. Ideas are all around us. The more you take in (via books, the news cycle, movies, music, etc.) the more you'll have to draw upon when it comes time to sit in the chair and get to work. 

Life is too short to waste time on ideas you're only marginally interested in exploring. 

Keep it curious, and keep it exciting.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

Your Gift To Readers

Why should I write a book?

No. The question is: why shouldn't you write a book?

Books are amazing contributions. They're a way to inspire or help other people. They teach us empathy. They transport us to other worlds.

They are a gift to those who read them.

But I'm scared. Writing a book is hard.

Yeah, writing is hard. Writing a book that resonates is even harder. But the perfect moment to sit down and do the job? That will never come. There will never be a time when fear isn't present. Our job is to act in spite of our fears--to show up and do the hard work anyway. 

Besides, it's not really about us. If we, as creators, see ourselves as a conduit of something that already demands to be birthed, well, that takes away at least some of the pressure. 

This thing--this book--it wants to be written. 

It wants you to write it.

Why?

Because it's your idea. It came to you. It chose you.

Because maybe someone out there needs your stories or the information you want to impart or your encouraging words.

Seems pretty rude to withhold that from the world, don't you think?

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

A Screenplay Competition Update

In my February Newsletter, I wrote the following:

Dear Reader,

A few years ago, I decided I wanted to write a screenplay. I knew next to nothing about this, though I’d read a few before, so I knew I would have to teach myself. Armed with a couple of books and a few reputable websites (and largely Googling as I went), I wrote a 120-page holiday romance (a la Hallmark because they follow such a predictable structure).

I really loved the process, so a few months later I adapted All I Never Wanted, turning it into a screenplay. 

I eventually plan to do the same with All I Never Needed, and, not surprisingly, I turned that original Christmas screenplay into a novel (which I’m not quite ready to do anything with). Yes—writing is a bit of an obsession for me. 

But that All I Never Wanted screenplay, which I’d tentatively titled Saving Summer, had been sitting on my hard drive for a couple of years now, and I wasn’t really sure what to do with it. . . .

 . . . until earlier this month when I stumbled across information about a screenplay competition and thought: “Why not?” I’m always preaching to my students—and you, faithful newsletter reader—as well as my blog readers and Twitter followers to get out there and make some creative noise, take chances, toss as many darts as possible because you Just. Never. Know.

Why not?

The $60 entry fee was tough to swallow. It’s not really the kind of cash I keep lying around (kids, bills, you know the drill), but that “what if?” ate at me until I couldn’t stand it anymore. 

So . . . it’s entered. Will anything come of it? I don’t know. Probably not. (?) But I wrote it, I’m proud of it, so why not?

That’s it. 

Why not?

It will be months before I hear anything, if I hear anything at all. The entry will be long forgotten by then, and I will likely be far into the next project, anyway. . . .

~UPDATE~

Dear Reader,

I am happy to report that Saving Summer has made it to the quarterfinal round. 

Scriptapalooza 2021 Quarterfinalists

Will it advance to the top 100? I don't know. It seems like a long shot, but I am happy for this (however temporary) "high" and will hang on to the idea that yes: maybe I still am moving in the right direction.

I rarely like announcing things, but felt this news needed to hit the blog, if only for posterity's sake. 

One day I will look back on this post and. . . . 

I don't know. We'll see. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~