February 22 Drama NL

Writers will happen in the best of families.
~Rita Mae Brown

Write what matters. If you don't care about what you're writing, neither will your readers.
~Judy Reeves

My most important piece of advice to all you would-be writers; when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.
~Elmore Leonard



Editorial:


I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day with only happy drama!

I'd like to talk about dialog and your characters' voice.

When you are out and around a group of people, shut your eyes. Okay, hang tight to your purse or wallet, but close your eyes. Listen, truly listen to the various dialogs going on around you. Can you hear, in the words they use, drama?
I would bet you can. You are not seeing any action taking place, only hearing the conversatations and maybe background noise.

Use this to improve your writing! When you get bogged down in too much detail and merely reporting your story, use dialog. What people say moves your piece along. What they say to one another adds more drama.

Words themselves aren't the only tool for creating a good story. If all of your characters spoke in the same manner, your readers will be bored to tears. Think back to the exercise above. Did everyone speak alike? Did they all use the same words to express themselves? What about regional dialects? Not everyone uses the greeting "hello." Howdy, yo, what up, hiya, hey there and a happy child shouting, "Mom!" are all different ways of saying the same thing. Someone may use a different greeting for different people. How your character expresses him/herself makes them more real to your readers.

Give your characters words or phrases that will be unique to them in your story or novel. Your readers will immediately identify with them as soon as they speak. They will know which character has appeared on the page.

What words a character chooses and how they speak will enliven your work, add drama nad hook your readers!

Until we meet again!
Nikola





Editor's picks:

ID: 1050255   (Rated: E) The Trash Bag Blues  Dakota has to catch the garbage man or her family will get kicked out of their apartment. by ♥ just jess ♥

ID: 1005537   (Rated: 13+) Random  A mysterious phone call plunges Haley's life into danger. by § Roseille - Writing ♥

ID: 850613   (Rated: 13+) Jeana  Jeana's bad habit was becoming more clear. by Amyaurora

ID: 914179 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

ID: 1072872 Invalid Item  This item number is not valid. by Not Available.

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Feedback:

From W.D.Wilcox © ¿ Φ : Nikolala ,
What a hair-raising newsletter! I know from experience that a fire approaching your house - everything you own in this world - can be quite horrifying

Yes it is! There is no way I could load everything I would want to take in my little Ford Escort. Not to say I wouldn't try...



From Puditat : Golly, Nikola. I'm glad that everything turned out okay with the fire. Some days are just born drama queens aren't they?

I think that's the most accurate quote I've seen in along time! It seems the drama queens days around here are trying to top each other!


From scribbler : now how come I never get any drama like that?

Believe me, this is NOT the kind of drama you'd want.


From essence of thought : Tons and tons and tons of drama there. Wow! Glad you're okay. That's the stuff that prompts great stories. Great NL. Write On!

Thank you! We had a wildfire this week that nearly caused the evacuation of the entire town! To the credit of our area volunteer firefighters and the Forestry Service, we were spared. Some very terrifying hours though.



From Mothermouse : Great newsletter. Having recently come too close to two fires in less than 24 hours on New Years Day, I can honestly say I felt your apprehension and could see the scene before my eyes just reading about your fire.

I'm glad to see you are okay. There is nothing quite like the waiting and watching as fire approaches.