Inspired by my decision to try and read Cormac McCarthy's The Road again (I gave up last time), I've been thinking about starting a story about the apocalypse / dying earth / last man on earth. My first instinct (again inspired by McCarthy's multiple line breaks) was to write it in the diary / journal style, until I asked myself how I would handle dialogue. What I mean by this, is that it's not usual - or even possible unless you record them - to transcribe conversations you may have had during your day, when making a diary entry. You may document the things you discussed, but you wouldn't transcribe them word for word. So I ask, as a reader, would you simply overlook passages of dialogue without questioning their inclusion in a diary style story, or would you expect and want it to be handled differently?
I don't think it matters too much that people wouldn't remember it word for word. I've read epistolary novels, where the author is basically recorded in a journal or in letters, and the dialogue is presented normally. You could do it in summary form, with the writer simply stating what has been said, but unless you're heavily invested in that style and can pull it off, you'll probably end up with a less engaging work. Better off dramatizing it. Someone in my critique group told an author writing a memoir not to use dialogue for the reasons you stated (they can't remember the conversation verbatim), and I disagreed for the same reasons I've stated above.
It's not so much the 'remembering it word for word' that makes me ask, it's the fact that if you were to find a genuine diary or journal, you wouldn't expect to see any dialogue, because it's not something you do in diary writing. But I take your answer that an exception would be made by most, for the sake of artistic license. I suppose if I'm honest, I was just looking for an excuse to use lots of line breaks (or epistolary as you call it) but of course I don't need an excuse, do I?
Diary writing, as a form of personal writing, is unique to each individual. You may want to look at other diary style novels to take a look at how different writers display conversation in diary writing. A few that come to my mind are "The Little House on Mango Street", "Sex and the City", "Angus, Thomgs, and Full-frontal Snogging"... They all have different styles of written dialogue/conversation. I personally do and have always included dialogue in my life's diaries, and I am sure I am not the only person to do so. Conversations with other people are usually the high points of my day, so of course I include the most memorable parts of conversation.
Another thing I have to ask: Who is he leaving this record for? If he's the last person on Earth, posterity will only be realized by evolved chimps or aliens. Not that I'm trying to discourage you; this is just how my mind works.
I'd never really thought of that Anyway, it was a brief idea that I quickly dismissed. I'm no longer writing in diary style.
Your question is the very reason I started writing my most recent pieces in an anecdottal, recollective kind of way. I thought of trying a variant of that style myself and just couldn't quite get my head around it. I'm not too preturbed about my having failed though... it forced me to write in a way that comes more naturally to me. Maybe when I have a million more words, and a bit more experience behind me, I'll give it another shot.
I don't think I know any other way. The only way I can make sense of tense and voice, is to imagine I'm simply recounting the events to someone, face to face. Sometimes, if I'm struggling with the rhythm or flow of a sentence, I turn to an empty chair and recount that part of the story to an imaginary listener.
Yep...that's how I do it. Storytelling used to be a big thing in my neck of the woods but, once the telly was invented, younger folks became less interested, and the only traditional storytellers were very, very old. You would still get the occasional one, usually a related family member, but they tend to keep to Ceili's and special occasions now, rather than ply their trade as a form of regular entertainment, as it once was. Such a pity.
That's not to suggest I write in an old fashioned story-telling style. I prefer contemporary fiction - something with balls and attitude - and like to think my stuff comes across in a similar tone. Not that I have any confidence it does My biggest influence for my current novel is HST's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
