Two Topics: Writer Friendship and Dialogue

 

I have always loved silhouette pictures, so this one appealed to me. It made me think of a couple different topics for today's post. 

First, I thought about the friendship of writers, one writer visiting with another. They can discuss the everyday things about life, their families and friends, but most of all, they can talk over whatever is occurring in their writing world. No one understands a writer better than another writer. Others can sympathize when a big project never gets published, but another writer offers empathy. 

A writer can ask another writer for advice or to take a look at an essay just finished. She/he can't do that to a non-writer friend. Oh, he/she might ask but not get much help. Foster your friendships with other writers. It benefits both sides. 

The second topic the silhouette brought to mind is writing dialogue. There are writers who consider dialogue to be one of the most difficult things they write, while others enjoy the back and forth of two people talking. 

Dialogue is meant to do several things:

A. Good dialogue will move your story along.

B. It will aid in showing rather than narrative telling.

C. It's a way to get information to the reader.

D. It's part of character development.

E. It shows relationships between characters

F.  It breaks up long spates of pure narrattion

There are a lot of rules and a few no-no things to learn about writing dialogue, but I'll save that for a full post on Monday. Meanwhile, if you are reading a book or a short story this weekend, pay attention to the way the dialogue is written. Does it appeal to you, or does it seem stilted, or unnatural? Then check Monday's post for further discussion.

Even Moving Inches Will Get You There

Today's poster quote can be summed up with a simple thought. Achieving success doesn't happen overnight. 

Beginning writers know this in their rational mind but their heart might tell them otherwise. When we want to be successful writers, we would give a lot for it to happen quickly. Write a story. Get it published. Sounds simple but any writer with experience will let you know this is a dream. It may be what your heart is saying but it takes a lot more than just plain desire. 

But doesn't the quote begin with a dream? It's our jumping off place. It's where our writing journey begins. We acquire those other things along the way--faith in our ability, action, perseverance and patience. 

Wouldn't it be nice if we could stop in at a writing shop and buy a pound of each? If only! Instead, writers must work at each one of those traits on a consistent basis to make that dream a reality.

Will your big dream come true if you pursue each one? For a few, it will. But for many, only part of the big dream will come to fruition. And that's perfectly alright. There's nothing wrong with meeting small goals. 

At times, it feels like we move inch by inch when we'd like it to be leaps and bounds. Keep in mind that even with inches, you're making progress. It's when you move backwards or get stuck in one place for a long time that you should be concerned. Keep moving! 

Yesterday, I spent some time looking through some calls for submissions. It's been awhile since I submitted to someplace other than Chicken Soup for the Soul.  I've been busy with a lot of other things. At least, that's what I told myself. But the reality is that I got a bit lazy. Finding places to submit to takes time and perseverance. A bit of patience, too. As I scanned through the possibilities I found in newsletters and facebook postings, I got more enthused. I thought about pieces already written that might fit this one or that. I had a few ideas for new writing pop into my head. 

Consider what you haven't been doing for awhile and revisit. Whether it's a certain kind of writing or finding places to submit or revising old pieces, spend some time there. Inspiration can sometimes be of our own making. That simple act of looking for places to submit to yesterday definitely inspired me. 

Today's poster might be a good one to print and keep close to your writing area. Use it as a reminder of where you want to go and how you can get there.