The speed of the internet has profoundly changed many (or most) people’s perceptions of writing and publishing. It has affected our sense of TIME.

Everything is accelerated. If we can copy and paste a story or article and submit it via e-mail within a matter of minutes then is seems strange to still have to wait a few months for response. We’ve come to expect quick results in cyberspace.

It’s easy to forget, as we’re staring at computer-generated characters and interacting with an animated screen, that we’re still sending our work out to another human being. That person has their own schedule, their own set of opinions and values when it comes to stories, articles, and poems…to sum it up, they have a life away from the computer. The internet is the medium, not the message.

Microsoft word has helped foster the illusion that anyone can be a writer. Who needs to learn spelling and grammar when the program can find and fix such errors? Again we have a distortion of our sense of time. Instead of building up our talent, and nurturing our ability over a long period of trial and error, we want to plow right in to that bestseller.

The reality is that creativity follows its own rhythms, a natural ebb and flow. The process by which a writer’s life experience percolates inside and then bursts forth in a new form is something that can be forced only at great cost to the work.

Consider “The Lord of the Rings”, the most influencial fantasy of the last century. J.R.R. Tolkien labored over that novel for twelve years. Readers nowadays might cry: “What a waste! Imagine what he could have done with modern technology!” when they hear that he spent an entire year simply hammering out a final typescript.

What is seldom pointed out, though, is that this more painstaking process allowed him to carefully consider EVERY WORD that he set down in type. And fifty years after their publication, those words still ring with power and wonder.

Perhaps its a blessing that he didn’t have spell-check.

The bottom line for writers is this: technology in many ways HAS made our work easier. It’s done away with some of the grind, so we can more fully devote our energy to the creative process. Now if we can only keep in mind that that process works according to its own timetable. Lets not try to force it to keep up with the speed of our machines.

Seth Mullins is the author of “Song of an Untamed Land”, a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. Visit Seth at http://authorsden.com/sethtmullins

1. Listen to How People Talk

If you listen carefully to how people speak, you’ll notice that people tend to use shorter sentences in times of high emotion: anger, surprise, awe. “I can’t take this! Get out!” versus “I find this situation intolerable. I want you to leave right now.” They ramble a bit when they’re nervous or confused. “I know this isn’t what you wanted, but I wasn’t sure which way to make the diagram fit best on the page so I brought both copies with me. I hope you don’t mind.” Young children tend to get pronouns confused or leave out articles: “Me go to store with Gramma.” You’ll begin to recognize how different personalities have different word usage and diction. All of these observations can be incorporated in the dialogue you write.

The best grammar isn’t always used, either. Even people who write well, don’t always speak well. “I’ve got to get that new Jonas Brother’s,” takes precedence in speech over the more correct, “I have to buy the Jonas Brother’s new CD.” Word usage and contractions that you might avoid in narration become quite logical in dialogue: “There’s no more to see, so let’s get outta here.”

2. Use Dialogue as Enhancement

To be most effective, use dialogue as an extension of your story line and character development. Let’s say you have a character, Jane. She’s late to the airport. She gets in a taxi and tells the driver she has to hurry to the airport. He agrees.

Well, those are the facts, and it could be left strictly to narration: Jane shoved her way into the cab and slammed the door as she told the driver to hurry to the airport. He agreed.

Or dialogue could be used. These examples show how different Jane characters could speak and how the energy of the scene is increased.

Plain Jane: “I have to get to the airport really fast. Can you do that?” Cabby: “You betcha.”

Jane of the streets: “The airport, bro, and hit it!” Cabby: “I’m on it!”

Jane the executive: “Airport. A big tip if you make it quick.” Cabby: “Yes, ma’am!”

Jane the professor: “To the airport, please, and I’m in a hurry.” Cabby: “Certainly.”

You notice the cabby’s response was dictated by Jane’s words, making the scene more believable. Inconsistencies between people’s words and actions should be used for a reason and also noted. For instance, if Jane the professor had said “The airport, bro, and hit it!” The cabby might have jerked to look at her, or the narrator might have commented how Jane chuckled inside at her language–or, both.

Writing effective dialogue is an art all its own and one that should be honed with observation and rewriting. Truly knowing your characters is essential. Reading scenes aloud to yourself or others (writing groups are good for this) will increase your ability to hear the rhythms of sentences and recognize good (not necessarily proper) word usage. With diligent practice, this creative aspect of your writing will become second nature and flow evenly with your story and literary style.

Change the ending

Think back to a movie or book ending that you were dissapointed with. Rewrite the ending trying to keep the characters and situation consistent with the the original.

Dialogue

Find a place in which to listen to people conversing. This can be your home, a coffee shop, or a bus stop. Do try to find a place where you can write unobserved. Listen to the what people say as they are talking to one another for five minutes. Did they use complete sentences or fragments of sentences? What was their meaning and intent? Was there emotion behind what was said? What would you guess is the relationship of the speakers? Did the speakers use gestures? Can you capture this conversation on paper?

Make a list

Choose something ordinary and make a list of things about it or related to it. Do it off the top of your head, taking just 10 minutes or so. Now read it. You will feel a rhythm to it after a few lines, and it will sound poetic. If you make a list about a kiss or love or flowers, you may have a sweet poem when you’re done.

Answer Questions

If you have a character concept and want to develop it further, it really helps to do this exercise.

Answer all of the questions, even if you answer incompletely or in the negative. For example, if you were trying to answer “what kind of car does he/she drive” for a knight errant, you might answer “he rides a horse and it’s a chestnut stallion, 4 years old”. For a little boy you might answer “he doesn’t drive a car but he loves playing with his Matchboxes”. Or you might answer “some kind of beat-up old compact car” instead of listing the model and year.

Be as specific as possible.

• What is his/her name?
• Age?
• Height?
• Body shape?
• Hair colour, skin colour?
• Job?
• Favourite saying?
• Typical outfit to wear?
• Method of transportation?
• Immediate plan?
• Long-range goal?
• Kind of education?
• What kind of house/home/apartment?
• What city/country/location?
• Does he/she have a pet? What kind?
• Best friend?
• Favourite food?
• Financial situation?
• Hobby?
• Skill?
• Moral attitude?
• Philosophical attitude?
• Favourite book? Last-read book?
• What is the bedroom like?
• Spouse/mate/steady date/significant other? Why/why not?
• Parents? Siblings? Kids?