Writing - part x579, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, more Dialog

8 August 2018, Writing - part x579, Developing Skills, How to Suspend Disbelief, more Dialog   

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but my primary publisher has gone out of business—they couldn’t succeed in the past business and publishing environment.  I'll keep you informed, but I need a new publisher.  More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

     4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

1.      Design the initial scene

2.      Develop a theme statement (initial setting, protagonist, protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)

a.       Research as required

b.      Develop the initial setting

c.       Develop the characters

d.      Identify the telic flaw (internal and external)

3.      Write the initial scene (identify the output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)

4.      Write the next scene(s) to the climax (rising action)

5.      Write the climax scene

6.      Write the falling action scene(s)

7.      Write the dénouement scene

I finished writing my 29^th novel, working title, Detective, potential title Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective.  The theme statement is: Lady Azure Rose Wishart, the Chancellor of the Fae, supernatural detective, and all around dangerous girl, finds love, solves cases, breaks heads, and plays golf.  

Here is the cover proposal for Blue Rose: Enchantment and the Detective. 

Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I am continuing to write on my 30^th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 29^th novel, working title Detective.  I’m planning to start on number 31, working title Shifter. 

How to begin a novel.  Number one thought, we need an entertaining idea.  I usually encapsulate such an idea with a theme statement.  Since I’m writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement.  Here is an initial cut.

For novel 30:  Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns about freedom, and is redeemed.

For novel 31:  TBD 

Here is the scene development outline:

1. Scene input (comes from the previous scene output or is an initial scene)

2. Write the scene setting (place, time, stuff, and characters)

3. Imagine the output, creative elements, plot, telic flaw resolution (climax) and develop the tension and release.

4. Write the scene using the output and creative elements to build the tension.

5. Write the release

6. Write the kicker

          

Today:  Suspension of disbelief is the characteristic of writing that pulls the reader into the world of the novel in such a way that the reader would rather face the world of the novel rather than the real world—at least while reading.  If this occurs while not reading, it is potentially a mental problem.  To achieve the suspension of disbelief your writing has to meet some basic criteria and contain some strong inspiration.  If you want to call the inspiration creativity, that works too.  Here is a list of the basic criteria to hope to achieve some degree of suspension of disbelief. 

1.      Reasonably written in standard English

2.      No glaring logical fallacies

3.      Reasoned worldview

4.      Creative and interesting topic

5.      A Plot

6.      Entertaining

7.      POV

Here is a list of these basic language factors (standard English) that might prevent suspension of disbelief:

1.      Vocabulary

2.      Grammar

3.      Dialog

4.      Language

5.      Idioms

6.      Understanding

7.      Terms

Generally, we write about problems with your writing that might prevent suspension of disbelief.  The assumption is that you can write well enough to produce a work where suspension of disbelief is possible, and the problem is to keep the reader in that suspension of disbelief. 

How do you write convincing fictional dialog.  I spend a month of blog time on just this subject, but I’ll try to hit the highlights. 

I think the most important qualities of good dialog is tags and convincing progressions.  Most stilted dialog is stilted because it doesn’t follow the normal progression of a conversation.  The progression of a normal human conversation is:

1.      Greetings

2.      Introductions

3.      Light conversation

4.      Deeper conversation (potentially)

5.      Disengagement

6.      Farewells

Your dialog should always follow this progression.  There are times when you can abbreviate this progression, but not usually.  Even friends engage in this type of progression of dialog.  In the progressions, I note deeper conversation as an option because not all conversation drives to this level and that’s okay although in most cases, the reason for the dialog is to get to the level of a deeper conversation.

The other problem is tags and labels.  I’ve written before that I don’t use “said.”  I am also in favor of using tags (action identification) during all dialog.  Here’s my reasoning.  First of all, tags feel normative to me.  I like dialog with tags.  I think it really helps with decreasing the stilted quality of an immature writer’s writing.  Second, research tells us that more than 80% of conversation is nonverbal.  This means, action tags are the only way for the writer to display this nonverbal component of the conversation.  Without action tags, the conversation is dependent on just the conversation.  You better be really articulate or very verbose.  You can also allude to action in speech and labels, but action tags are easy and build a picture for your readers.  That’s the point.

The suspension of disbelief requires the writer to build a picture.  Pictures with words are the narrative action (description and description of action), figures of speech, and the action tags in the dialog.  Potentially, the writer can draw a piece of a picture in the dialog itself, but this is an advanced skill and somewhat difficult to do.

The other techniques to reduce stilted dialog are appropriate contractions, appropriate labels, and appropriate address.  This means most speech includes contractions at every opportunity.  This is a huge indicator of stilted dialog.  Appropriate labels are the way the speakers are identified in the dialog labels.  I don’t use said—I like to use other action conversational verbs.  Appropriate address is the address of characters in the dialog.  In the progression model for dialog, direct address usually only occurs in the greetings and introductions.  This is true of actual conversation.  People rarely address people by their names except when they want to get the character’s attention or to make a specific point, usually negative.

Just remember stilted dialog will drive your readers out of the suspension of disbelief.  Writing good fictional dialog is a critical skill for the author.  Practice it.  Become great at it.  Use it for most of your writing.          

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:

http://www.ancientlight.com/
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com  

fiction, theme, plot, story, storyline, character development, scene, setting, conversation, novel, book, writing, information, study, marketing, tension, release, creative, idea, logic