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Reflections, and a question for artists
12 years ago
Today's a bit of a boring day for me with little in the way of internet access. I have an emergency dental appointment to attend and graduation forms to file, and half of my day, courtesy of the city bus system, is dedicated to travel. So, in the interim, I thought I'd make today productive, or at the very least enlightening, even if I can't be at my computer.
I have a question for everyone, but particularly artists/writers:
Creatively speaking, what do you struggle with? What element of your art is your weakest area?
Mine is dialogue.
I don't just mean character interaction, but all the problems that arise from tailoring speech. It's more complicated than it sounds because there are so many dimensions to consider, and there are barriers separating decent writing from believable writing.
Does it make sense? Can the audience understand what they're talking about? If not, is that intentional? Sometimes, it's important not to give away too much, else you risk dumping exposition on a reader and selling your plot short.
Does it sound too ridiculous? I've never been one for cheesy dialogue, even when it's appropriate -- much as I understand quite a few people in our community tolerate or even embrace it. It feels forced, unnatural, and unintelligent.
Is it the right tone? How characters talk depends on a lot of external factors, including mood, setting, plot, thoughts, emotions, subtext, and context. Tone referring to how someone talks is also reactionary to another's lines of dialogue. Is it necessary to describe tone, or is it better to let the reader infer details?
Does it flow naturally? In other words, is what they're saying and how they're saying it appropriate given the conversation and its end result? Do the characters play off one another in a way that sounds like an actual, intelligible discussion?
Does it sound rigid? Dialogue is dynamic, not stiff or motionless; it has to play itself out and sound natural. If a character says something no one in their right mind would ever say, whether it's stupid or not, there needs to be a legitimate reason for it.
Is it paced properly? Is it supposed to sound fast, slow, or somewhere in-between? Does the writing between each character's dialogue contribute to this sense of pace?
There's a lot more I could muse about on this matter, but I'm interested to hear your replies, and my bus ride is nearly finished. So tell me: What is your greatest problem with your art?
I have a question for everyone, but particularly artists/writers:
Creatively speaking, what do you struggle with? What element of your art is your weakest area?
Mine is dialogue.
I don't just mean character interaction, but all the problems that arise from tailoring speech. It's more complicated than it sounds because there are so many dimensions to consider, and there are barriers separating decent writing from believable writing.
Does it make sense? Can the audience understand what they're talking about? If not, is that intentional? Sometimes, it's important not to give away too much, else you risk dumping exposition on a reader and selling your plot short.
Does it sound too ridiculous? I've never been one for cheesy dialogue, even when it's appropriate -- much as I understand quite a few people in our community tolerate or even embrace it. It feels forced, unnatural, and unintelligent.
Is it the right tone? How characters talk depends on a lot of external factors, including mood, setting, plot, thoughts, emotions, subtext, and context. Tone referring to how someone talks is also reactionary to another's lines of dialogue. Is it necessary to describe tone, or is it better to let the reader infer details?
Does it flow naturally? In other words, is what they're saying and how they're saying it appropriate given the conversation and its end result? Do the characters play off one another in a way that sounds like an actual, intelligible discussion?
Does it sound rigid? Dialogue is dynamic, not stiff or motionless; it has to play itself out and sound natural. If a character says something no one in their right mind would ever say, whether it's stupid or not, there needs to be a legitimate reason for it.
Is it paced properly? Is it supposed to sound fast, slow, or somewhere in-between? Does the writing between each character's dialogue contribute to this sense of pace?
There's a lot more I could muse about on this matter, but I'm interested to hear your replies, and my bus ride is nearly finished. So tell me: What is your greatest problem with your art?
In terms of writing... That's more difficult to pinpoint. Because my stories and characters are so internal to me, dialogue and characterizations tend to flow naturally from within. I think the hardest thing for me is finding the motivation to actually write. I find myself stalling for long periods of time cause I'm either at a point where I have to do something that I don't want to put my characters through or it's such an emotional scene that I feel I can't do justice to how I envision it. (That's what I'm currently stuck with right now). Sometimes a key scenario or event is so important to the future of my character that I hesitate to write about it for fear of it becoming less important than it actually is, if that makes any sense.
It's not fun to make compromises for the sake of moving on, especially when you're detail-oriented like me. But I've also been taught that readers, no matter how many words you give them, will always mold scenes to their own imaginations, creating in their mind how they envision things playing out. Our job is still the most important part of developing a story by representing those ideas, giving our audience a starting point before setting them loose.
That shouldn't stop us from describing things to our best capabilities, because it's our baby too. With the right words and the right tone, I'm sure you can make any important scene live up to your standards. Just remember: compromise isn't a bad thing; it puts the responsibility of interpretation back into the hands of your readers. Even when you try your hardest, it's always possible your best intentions will fall flat for some people, but that's not failure in any sense of the word.