Talkin'
So, a few posts back I was talking about the three things that stand out about my comic (well, technical aspects, actually. I mean the comic kinda stands out due to sheer wierdness, ultra-violence, and bizarre need to mix genres...). To recap, those aspects were: My fight scenes, characterization, and dialogue. Last time we did a little dissertation on Fight Scenes. This time it's on dialogue.
Dialogue is really pretty easy to write. Good dialogue sounds like stuff people actually say. Bad dialogue doesn't. That's the basic secret. That's also the main reason why most people don't take alot of Fantasy and Sci-Fi stuff seriously. Fantasy dialogue has a tendency to sound overwrought ("Lo, mighty sorceror, you think that I shall fall to your magic bolts, but I say thee nay!"), while Sci-Fi stuff tends to get jargon laden to make it all futuristic-y ("I'm going to take the Port Jump to the nearest Space Plank so I can grab a Vadoolan Craglodar and Jetset out of this system). Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with a little jargon here and there, or having one character who speaks entirely in flowery prose. The problem is when your entire Cast sounds like either A) a group of lab geeks or B) A pack of failed Shakespearean actors. When that happens, you're gonna alienate alota people just through your dialogue. And who needs that?
I've been told the best way to tell whether or not your dialogue works is to read it out loud. If it sounds clunky, then it's probably clunky, and you should fix it. I dunno whether that works or not. I just write people the way they sound in my head.
Now, here's another important tip, not everybody should sound the same. People have different patterns of speech, and good dialogue should reflect that. I talk fairly quickly. Most of the time, when I talk, my speech is quick and too the point. When I've got something I really wanna talk about, though, I can Rant for a long time. My Dad, on the other hand talks REALLY slowly. And he puts big pauses between certain sentences. When you're writing dialogue, remember that dialogue reflects character just as much as anything else.
For some examples of my dialogue, head to www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html and score a book or two. Haha! Cheap plug!
Also, here's some guys who are absolute masters of dialogue. Most of em are British, so take that as you will...
-Peter David (Lots of stuff, but most famously the Hulk)
-Garth Ennis (You wanna see a diversity of dialogue? Check out Ennis's Preacher. You wanna see a book ruined by too much stylized dialogue? Check out Ennis's book "Dicks")
-Alan Moore (Alan Moore's wrote every kind of book imaginable, but probably the best example of his skill at dialogue is "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". League is set in Victorian England, and the whole thing reads like a period piece, without giving you a splitting migraine or being confusing.)
-Neil Gaiman- (Pretty much the same deal. Gaiman's "Sandman" series encompassed multiple time periods and a varietous cast of hundreds of characters, but the dialouge always felt right, regardless of whether it was being recited by a modern traffic cop, an ancient Japanese Thunder God, or a Box representing Order.)
Anything or anyone I'm forgetting?
Dialogue is really pretty easy to write. Good dialogue sounds like stuff people actually say. Bad dialogue doesn't. That's the basic secret. That's also the main reason why most people don't take alot of Fantasy and Sci-Fi stuff seriously. Fantasy dialogue has a tendency to sound overwrought ("Lo, mighty sorceror, you think that I shall fall to your magic bolts, but I say thee nay!"), while Sci-Fi stuff tends to get jargon laden to make it all futuristic-y ("I'm going to take the Port Jump to the nearest Space Plank so I can grab a Vadoolan Craglodar and Jetset out of this system). Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing wrong with a little jargon here and there, or having one character who speaks entirely in flowery prose. The problem is when your entire Cast sounds like either A) a group of lab geeks or B) A pack of failed Shakespearean actors. When that happens, you're gonna alienate alota people just through your dialogue. And who needs that?
I've been told the best way to tell whether or not your dialogue works is to read it out loud. If it sounds clunky, then it's probably clunky, and you should fix it. I dunno whether that works or not. I just write people the way they sound in my head.
Now, here's another important tip, not everybody should sound the same. People have different patterns of speech, and good dialogue should reflect that. I talk fairly quickly. Most of the time, when I talk, my speech is quick and too the point. When I've got something I really wanna talk about, though, I can Rant for a long time. My Dad, on the other hand talks REALLY slowly. And he puts big pauses between certain sentences. When you're writing dialogue, remember that dialogue reflects character just as much as anything else.
For some examples of my dialogue, head to www.torcpress.com/comicshop.html and score a book or two. Haha! Cheap plug!
Also, here's some guys who are absolute masters of dialogue. Most of em are British, so take that as you will...
-Peter David (Lots of stuff, but most famously the Hulk)
-Garth Ennis (You wanna see a diversity of dialogue? Check out Ennis's Preacher. You wanna see a book ruined by too much stylized dialogue? Check out Ennis's book "Dicks")
-Alan Moore (Alan Moore's wrote every kind of book imaginable, but probably the best example of his skill at dialogue is "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". League is set in Victorian England, and the whole thing reads like a period piece, without giving you a splitting migraine or being confusing.)
-Neil Gaiman- (Pretty much the same deal. Gaiman's "Sandman" series encompassed multiple time periods and a varietous cast of hundreds of characters, but the dialouge always felt right, regardless of whether it was being recited by a modern traffic cop, an ancient Japanese Thunder God, or a Box representing Order.)
Anything or anyone I'm forgetting?
5 Comments:
Man. I've never read fantasy that sounded like that. I must be good at pickin it or something.
Today's security word is snbiok.
You forgot Brian Bendis, who can drag one shot into six issues. You may not like him (I do) but you have to admit he is good.
Your dialougue is purty good. Now if I could ever get you to stop capitolizing every other word....
:)
Reading dialogue (and the narrative too really) aloud totally helps, and it's fun! That's how I keep my characters' voices from becoming unwieldy. It also helps me figure out if I've just given someone a line that they absolutely would.not. say.
Side note (from a girl who thinks she does a passable job writing fantasy): I think the key to writing period and/or fantasy style without sounding flowery or ridiculous, is to keep it a bit on the "formal" side. (Neil totally does this when he's dealing in gods and talking to historical figures) Not going overboard into thees and thous of course, 'cause that's hard to stick with and damn difficult to read outside of lit that really IS period ('cause then, at least, your brain has a chance to adjust).
I think Robert Kirkman does some excellent dialogue to.
Happy B-day, or belated b-day, I think I'm late a day, but I just got my internet back up to passible status.
I think it's amazing that characters in Tarantino films sound so cool, but the guy comes off as a total fanboy in real life. I wonder how he does dialogue (other than straight lifting from older moviews).
I always dug the Sandman series as far as dialogue, but I can't stray too far from film when it comes to influencial verbage.
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