Okay, so this Freelance Friday article is one I’ve looked forward to alllll year. (I’m not sure why I waited this long to share it.) (It could’ve totally been for January.)
One of the questions I got last year when I launched
this idea was: How can you improve dialogue and setting descriptions as a
writer? And this was honestly one of my favorite things about my college
career, because I learned so much, and this question helped me remember
those tips.
So without further ado…
DIALOGUE
It can be tricky to ensure that each character “sounds”
unique to the point that readers don’t get lost in dialogue because everyone
sounds monotone. So one of the best things you can do is create a character
info document. Where’s the character from? What’s his/her accent? Are there
dialects specific to this region? If it’s a made-up region, what real-life
examples can you pull to describe them? Do they always mispronounce certain
words, and other characters always correct them? Do they use a lot of filler
words (like, and, but, etc.) or do they use big words to the point of being a
bit annoying? What’s their laugh sound like? Their voice—gravelly, soft, harsh,
nasally? Do they get quiet when they’re mad, or do they start screaming? Do
they have a favorite insult or perhaps a pet name? Do they struggle to recall
names and so they give everyone descriptive nicknames instead, like Pink Hair
or Crooked Nose?
Once you have those character traits sorted out, you
can work on sprinkling them throughout your manuscript consistently, but not so
often that readers get annoyed. You can easily create such character sheets for
every character in your novel, secondary characters included (because most of
the time, readers end up adoring the secondary folks too)!
SETTING
This is one of the most important things that people
tend to forget in writing their novels, but you can create such an amazing
response in readers when you describe the setting. You can even use setting to provoke
a particular mood for readers, and of course, it’s important that readers
clearly understand where in space the characters are at. So how can you hone
your setting?
Ask yourself what colors best represent your character’s current mood and internal struggle. Go on one of those paint websites and scroll through their color selectors to pick out an aesthetic and save it. Print it out. Paste it in your notebook, whatever it takes. How can you incorporate those colors into their setting? Maybe the houses have a particular gloomy gray color when the character is going through their “dark night of the soul” to borrow from Save the Cat! Or maybe the sun is a little brighter and the leaves more vibrant just moments before the news that changes your character’s world. Perhaps those colors are washed out until your character finds the person that’s meant to turn their world upside-down, and then one day, the neon lights hanging in diner windows are a little brighter. And so on!
Is there certain imagery or something important to the
character? Incorporate that often. For example, in Back To Me, my
character feels like she’s drowning. So she visits a bridge and watches the
water underneath it often. She works nearby, and she can see it from her place
of work when she’s struggling mentally. As the story progresses, she learns to
see the water as something softer, not something she’s thrashing around in. It’s
incorporated both metaphorically and literally in the story to maintain that
thread throughout.
Another good tip for incorporating crisp descriptors
for your settings? Go outside with a journal and pencil and describe in verse
your surroundings. Don’t use any filler words at all. Find ways to describe the
crisp orange leaves rattling in wind. How clouds scuttle across blue oceans of
sky. Dead bark standing stark against winter’s white…you get the gist. This
exercise can be difficult, but it’s important to flex your writer’s muscles in
ways you’re maybe not used to, and doing so can improve your prose as well. Now,
once you’re comfortable with this exercise? Sit down and envision yourself in
each setting your characters will find themselves in. Bring it up in your mind’s
eye and describe it the same way. Pull from your favorite lines and incorporate
those descriptions in your novel.
It takes work, exercise, and experience to improve
your dialogue and setting skills, but it’s one of the best ways to gut-punch a
reader and evoke something.
Do you have any tips you’d like to share?
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