  Action/Adventure
This week: The Art of the Pick-Up Line Edited by: Legerdemain  
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Making Conversation - The Art of the Pick-Up Line
Your character's eyes meet across the crowded room. You're pretty sure they're attracted to one another, but how to get them to start dialog? They could brush against one another in a crowded room. He could ask her to dance. She could toss a drink in his face. She could take the bottom apple in the cart and start an apple avalanche. And there they are, face to face, what do they say? A cheesy pick-up line?
"Were you arrested earlier? It's gotta be illegal to look that good."
"Am I dead, Angel? Cause this must be heaven!"
"Can I take a picture of you, so I can show Santa just what I want for Christmas."
"If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together."
"Do you have any raisins? No? How about a date?"
"I hope you know CPR, because you take my breath away."
Turn to the girl sitting next to you at the bar and say... "I'm not really this tall....I'm sitting on my wallet."
"Did you fart, 'cause you blow me away!"
I told you they were cheesy! First impressions make a difference in how a character reacts in your writing, the same way they do in person. When starting dialog between two characters it is important to know ahead of time if they're destined to be together. The conflict and resolution, or attraction and bonding should start at the beginning. Take the time before you write your meeting and think about where you want the relationship to go and how they should relate to one another. This will have direct influence on what dialog you choose to write. If the girl doesn't have a sense of humor, a fart joke is going to repel her, be sure this is the reaction you're looking for. Keep your personalities consistent, what he thinks is funny one day will be on his top ten list the next. While choosing all your dialog, remember to cut most inane dialog out and write the most important exchanges.
Another tool to use with your characters is body language. Is she leaning toward him while he speaks to her? Does she fiddle with her hair? Does he stand in a wide stance or sidle in too close to her? This helps clue your reader in to what emotional reaction is going to happen and if they will form a bond. The best way to learn about body language is to observe people, how they react in different situations and how they use body language to give non-verbal cues to emotion.
Then you'll know when it's time to have your character walk away or take her hand. Write on!
What tools do you use to start dialog between characters?
Send in your reply below! 
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#1815895 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: "Can I buy you a drink? "he asked when-- like a lady about to ride side saddle-- she gracefully mounted the bar stool next to him
Excerpt: The stranger raised a hand. Was it a tentative greeting?
Jerod held his breath, immobile.
Excerpt: As the train worked its way to the northeast, the tops of South Carolina's portion of the Blue Ridge Mountains were just visible to the west, dimly lit from behind as the sun fled toward the Rockies. The young woman sat as close to the window as she could get, sometimes actually pressing her nose against the glass. The trip was her high school graduation present, made possible by a cousin's out-of-the-blue offer to take her in for a whole week while her own parents vacationed in Florida.
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#1809904 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: On a hot September morning in 2012, Ramón Martinez, a thirty-year-old Hispanic American from southern Texas, sat in a chair waiting to see the Chief of the Texas Rangers, Senior Captain Steve Rollins. Ramón, recently discharged by the Army, wanted to become a Texas Ranger, fulfilling a dream he had since he was a ten-year-old boy. He was a handsome, boyish looking, well-built man, standing 5'10" tall who weighed one hundred seventy-five pounds. He sat erect with his eyes always facing forward. Young men wanting to become a Ranger rarely had an initial interview with the Senior Captain. A letter in his shirt pocket told the reason he waited to see Captain Rollins.
Naomi Wiggins, the Captain's receptionist, had taken the measure of the young man sitting before her, and noted his poise and disciplined manner.
Excerpt: Ernst should have noticed the silence earlier, often the whistles and shouted commands woke him before his alarm had the chance. Today it was eerily still, too quiet to feel comfortable, something was definitely wrong.
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#1808727 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Crouching amid the corn stalks, body glistening in the afternoon sun, the Indian peered into the open field. He reached for an arrow, setting it on the bowstring. As if the weapon fused with his being, he drew it back. His eyes searched for a foraging deer. Sweat beaded, sliding down his forehead. A doe ambled across the field. She paused, gazing upward
Excerpt: To the Editor, Daily Gazette:
I feel compelled to respond to the letter you published in last week's paper portraying the crew of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley as a bunch of "hoodlums and terrorists."
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This month's question: What tools do you use to start dialog between characters?
Last month's question: What do you do to prepare for marathon writing sessions?
NickiD89  : Great NL! I'm training for a half marathon right now AND writing a novel. Both projects are a first for me! So the info here rings true and resonates with me. Thanks!!
BIG BAD WOLF is hopping  : To prepare for something, I recommend chicken wings and pork ribs.
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Action/Adventure: October 19, 2011 Issue [#4668]
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