Wednesday, February 8, 2012

I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest- Dialogue Introduction

The I'm Hearing Voices Blogfest (the brainchild of Angie Cothran and Cassie Mae) continues. This time with dialogue.  So far, it's been a great opportunity to learn more about my characters.

Have two characters introduce each other using only dialogue—no backstory, no internalization, just dialogue between the two. Max 250 words.

I just went for it, script style.  

CLAIRE: What is this?

JEREMIAH: A painting.

CLAIRE: Like graffiti?

JEREMIAH: No... A painting.

CLAIRE: How do you get each swirl to match so perfectly?  How do you line it up?

JEREMIAH: It's in the wrist.  You have to do it quickly. Wanna try?

CLAIRE: I can't.

JEREMIAH: Of course you can.

CLAIRE:  No really.  I can't.  I'm useless.

JEREMIAH: It's easy.  Try it.

CLAIRE: Trust me.  I'll ruin it.   

JEREMIAH:  It's not like anyone'll see.  No one ever comes through.

CLAIRE:  Then why do you bother?

JEREMIAH: I like it along the canal.  It's quiet.  Still.  I can think.

CLAIRE:  Me too. It think it's beautiful.

JEREMIAH: The water's toxic, ya know.

CLAIRE: No.  Your painting.  I like it.

31 comments:

  1. I love it! I want to know more about these two and what they are up to. :)

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  2. i like it, too. This is a great window into both characters.

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  3. I want the conversation to go on. Very neat dialogue.

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  4. I REALLY like this. It's short but incredibly consise. And even though I know very little about these two, I already want to read more about them (and where they are!)

    ~JD

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  5. Wow. This was great to get so much across in just that short little bit. I love Claire already!

    Awesomesauce!

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  6. I want to see this painting of the canal! : )

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  7. Oh, I like it too. Nice job. I want to know what they're painting. And you showed their relationship so well it just the few words.

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  8. Aww, cute ending when Claire said she liked Jeremiah's painting. And I loved that Jeremiah comes to the canal to think and have some quiet time. I also loved the opening where Jeremiah points out it's a painting not graffiti?

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    1. Thanks Clare :) These characters are new to me, so it's been very exciting to write these posts.

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  9. Love it! I really liked how you showed complexity of the characters in so few words. Great job!

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  10. Aw, this gave me butterflies! Great work with this! ^_^

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  11. I really like the setting. I can picture it well. (I know this is about the characters but this is what I was thinking about!)

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  12. I love it Melissa :) So vibrant--the characters and the setting! Well done.

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  13. Interesting! What he is using as his painting medium and how he is painting is subtly suggested. I like it!

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  14. I really like the last two lines! Claire needs more confidence! I'm sure she's a great painter!

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  15. As JoLynn says, it is a great window into both characters. "The water's toxic, you know" is a striking line, Roland

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  16. Interesting exchange. I like the way you introduced the characters while showing us pieces of their vibrant, multi dimensional personalities.

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  17. As Justine says, it's very concise -- which is great for writing a screenplay! I learned a lot about being more concise from trying to cut 10 pages off a screenplay.

    And in just a few words, you've managed to convey quite a bit about these two characters. I would definitely want to keep reading about these two!

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  18. That was a cute exchange. :)

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  19. The end, "The water is toxic..." my favorite part. Good job!

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  20. This feels so effortless. So real. Very well done!

    *new follower* So nice to *meet* you!

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  21. I appreciate you taking the time to talk about them with people.

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  22. I could really feel the tenderness between these two characters. I really enjoyed this.

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  23. I love that you incorporated setting through dialogue!

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  24. This was a relaxing one to read. I like painting by the water too so I can relate. Nicely done!

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  25. I agree with Stephen! I felt totally chilled out while reading this, and even though on the surface it doesn't seem like much happened, it gave a very telling look into the characters. Lovely stuff!

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