Interior dialogue.

This is a photo of a disused brewery in Newark, Nottinghamshire UK. I love this building because of its wonderful roof and rounded doors. It's possible that members of my family worked here about 120 years ago.

When I visited it there was a fence around it and a derelict air about a building that once would have been important and productive.

Could you write a story using two voices about this place?

One is the voice of the last person to leave the building and lock the door on its useful days.

The second voice is that of someone who is now living in one or two rooms inside the building. There is no heat or light but the rooms are insulated and warm enough. The building hasn't been completely cleared out and objects remain.

Security guards patrol the perimeter of the fence and the outside of the building for two hours once a week.

Who are the characters?

Why are they important?

What do they want?

What stands in the way of them getting what they want?

It could be a story or a longer piece. If the characters are alone it might be a good time to enhance your skills in writing interior dialogue.

I might have a go at this myself, later.

writinginteriordialogue

Writing fiction for women's magazines - workshop in Huddersfield.

I ran a day long workshop on writing fiction for women's magazines on November 15th and it went well. The emphasis of the workshop is on getting work published in this niche area even though some of the information can be used in writing generally.

The workshop will run again on Saturday 28th February 2015 at The Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield and another Saddleworth location is to be confirmed. Same Price (£35) and conditions as before. Booking essential.

lawrencebatleytheatre.com

Dining room dialogue

Listening to other people's conversations can sometimes be intriguing. Over the weekend my family has been celebrating and this has involved eating out in restaurants. I am so curious about other people and have enjoyed finding out, by eavesdropping, what people at neighbouring tables have been celebrating too. Birthdays, anniversaries, retirements... so many cakes with candles and overheard speeches.
Some people eat too much, drink too much and say too much. Petty squabbles break out and relationships are sealed or damaged in such close quarters.
This brings me to dialogue. The most frustrating part of eavesdropping, for a curious person like me, is not knowing the back stories and events that people share. This means that sometimes I haven't understood what a conversation was about or I've had to guess.
When writing dialogue it is important to establish the nature of a relationship by what is said and also what is not said.

For example, two people on a first date might not know each other's favourite foods. It would be acceptable for one to ask the other.

'D'you like pasta?'

and the other to reply

'I love it.'

A sense of newness is conveyed.


If  two people who had known each other for twenty five years were eating at a restaurant they wouldn't ask this question. If they did it would seem odd. Instead one might say.


'I think I'll order the spaghetti bolognaise.'    

and the other might reply

'Not again.'


Here a sense of knowing someone who always orders spaghetti to the point of irritation is conveyed.

To try your dialogue skills out ...

1. Pick a place to eat - greasy spoon or very posh as long as there are several tables.
2. Focus on four tables with 2-4 people sitting at them.
3. Decide what conversation is taking place at each and remember to give each person a motive that determines what they say, mean and ultimately want. Think about the reasons for them being together, such as reunions, affairs, business......
4. Give each table 5 minutes of dialogue each. This dialogue should form a story with a start middle and end so that four complete stories are being told through words. Then mix the pages so that the conversations run into one another and form interesting juxtapositions. This will add to the tension and anticipation.

This could create a twenty minute one act play if you worked at it and edited it carefully. You might get something else from it. 
The idea isn't new. The playwright Terence Rattigan wrote two one act plays collectively called Separate Tables. Have a look at how he went about the subject.

www.terencerattigan.co.uk

separate tables terence rattigan

Dear Diary

I speak to a lot of people who confess to destroying teenage diaries because they are embarrassed by the content or don't want a new spouse to read them. I never speak to anyone who has collected their diaries and has a substantial stash of them in the attic. It's a shame but life is busy enough without recording it. 

Using a diary to construct a novel is useful. It can enable a merge with the past and the present and can move action around.



Write a first person diary entry for yesterday and the day before. (I washed the car. I went to a club) No more than 250 words.

Now change it into the third person - (Jack washed the car.Jack went to a club)

Then add the voice of someone who finds and reads the diary and is affected by what they read.

Italicise the diary entries and date them. Try to formulate a story with the diary entries and the reader.

Try searching for book titles - fiction - based around diary entries, for example The Vampire Diaries. Have a look at some of them and see what people have achieved with this device.   

secret diary adrian mole

Characters and motive

I have been looking at characters this week. Characters can be protagonists or antagonists but in order for them to be interesting they have to want something. This provides the motive for them to act and drive their story forwards.

I asked people in my group to think of the most distinct person they knew, describe them and determine what their motive was in life. What fabulous characters emerged. And what motives.

My own addition was a friend of mine who is super clean and tidy. If she gave you a biscuit she would vacuum you while you ate it. Why? maybe she needs to be in control, maybe cleanliness is of the highest importance to her because of something that happened to her. Maybe she'd rather not have her life filled in with messiness because she'd rather be doing something else. I must ask her.

Think of three people you know who are distinct or memorable in some way.

Write down who they are, what their characteristic is and what you think motivates them.

Put two of them together in a story. Add a location such as a meeting where they find themselves side by side or a sporting match on the same or opposite teams. Make their motives distinct so that the work comes alive.  Try writing a story about them or a page of dialogue.

We watched a film in which the protagonists motive is clear in every scene. If you have time you might try it. It's an Italian film called la Vita e Bella. In English it's called Life is Beautiful and it is dubbed. The writer and lead actor is called Roberto Benigni roberto benigni life is beautiful

Crime Novels

I have two crime novels on the go at the moment. One is hard edged, urban, violent and centres around the Manchester drugs and crime scene. It's not my usual cup of tea but it's for research and I like it.The other is what might be described as cosy. No sex, drugs or rock and roll and there's a cat in it.

At the moment the crime genre is one of the most popular genres amongst readers, particularly women. From the perspective of a writer this is interesting as the scope is large and the possibilities intriguing.

Carry out an investigation of your own and find out how many sub genres of the crime genre there are. (there are many)There's everything from the bloody to the downright fluffy with lots of variety in-between. My tastes lie somewhere in the middle of these extremes. 

What are your preferences?

Your reading tastes might not be the same as your writing tastes.

Select two or three of the sub-genres and create an appropriate crime solving character to suit each. The sub-genre should suggest the characteristics of a person who might solve crimes in a particular world. For example a Miss Marple character is unlikely to be solving crimes in the prostitute and pimps, burning streets novel at the side of my bed. Nor is a revenge hungry, super-fit bouncer likely to be looking for lost cats. This doesn't mean to say incongruous pairings can't work, but give it some thought.


Next, think of the crimes your fledgling gum-shoe might solve.

You may unearth some fascinating clues.

spaces at oldham writing group

A new course has started at Oldham Library for creative writing. Five fab people turned up but a few more needed to get a solid creative writing group going again in the area. 

Friday mornings, 10-12, upstairs in the main library building.

The class I was teaching last term has enrolled 21 people. 

The well thumbed cliche famine or feast comes to mind.