Didn't really know how to word the title. Basically, I feel like in my writing (absurdist humor), I can come up with a decent plot, I can come up with funny gags, and I can mess with my wordplay to where it flows well. However, whenever it comes to actual ACTIONS (including dialogue), I often feel like I simply can't write it well. I can go on and on with exposition and with funny back-and-forth banter, but I don't know how to describe a scene well, don't know how to convey emotions, and don't know how to replace the standard, "he groaned," "he sighed," "he chuckled," etc. Basically, once I get past exposition, and have to actually write actions, I come up blank. Having 3 straight pages of dialogue is not uncommon so far in my book. Anyone else struggle with this? I try to make it as entertaining as possible, but my scenes get so drawn-out (as I'm writing this, I feel like that's the real issue), that there's only so much filler I can add in. Again, not uncommon for dialogue to span a few pages.
That is part of the learning process, and not all writers manage the balance well between dialog and narrative.I wouldn't try to force it. Some of it comes down to finding your individual voice as a writer. But if you find you are weak in and element, like narrative, challenge yourself to write scenes or short pieces using only that element. Dialogue can be particularly difficult to master. Dialogue is more than conversation transcribed. Good dialogue exposes character, relationships, motivations, or hidden agendas, often in what is not said. If you only use dialogue to replace narration, your writing will drag the reader to ennui. Good dialogue has sharp edges that can draw blood. Like the old man at the table who seems to be rambling with distracting senile remarks, and ends up saying clearly and quietly to his son, now thoroughly humiliated by what he himself has said, "John, you're an idiot."
Hi, Is this something you just "feel" or something you know without a shadow of doubt you lack skill in? (As in you've posted action scenes to gather feedback on this exact concern). If the answer is it's just a feeling. You may be over criticizing your work and seeing problems where there aren't any. You feel comfortable writing humour, but not action so you think you write it poorly. Seek feedback on this before tackling it. Ask for specific feedback.
It sorta depends on how effective your dialogue is, and if they serve a real purpose. I remember reading a crime novel where characters would have a page's worth of monologue. Awesome book. Guy's called Lawrence Block and he's pretty successful. If you don't feel strong with writing action scenes, have you considered going for screenplays? Then it's all dialogue, pretty much Perhaps you're just not writing to your strength? It's hard to help without seeing your writing really. Once you've fulfilled the Workshop requirements (check it in the FAQ), perhaps you could post a short scene for people to give feedback for. This way people can really comment on where the weaknesses are and suggest ways to improve it.
I think this is a common issue for writers of satire and humor in general. It may not even be that big a problem though. Some of my favorite humorists spend more time on exposition and background and absurd observation than they do on "pure" storytelling. Kurt Vonnegut, Douglass Adams and Christopher Moore immediately come to mind. On the other hand, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett wrote a vivid, engulfing story together while inserting a joke a sentence. Knowing the work of both authors, I can guess who brought more story to the table and who brought the most funny, but it really works. So who are some of your favorites? Are there things they're doing that you're not? Obviously I'm not suggesting you copy anyone's style directly, but when it comes to these sorts of insecurities and perceived weaknesses, study is almost as important as practice. Examining what's worked before can bring so much confidence to our writing. She makes a great point. Do what you do well. Maybe you should write it the way it comes to you and then take a step back to really see if it's working before you force something in there you think it needs but doesn't come naturally to you. As was also observed, it's hard for us to say what we think it needs without reading a sample. We'd all love to read a bit in the workshop, if you want opinions.
Use an interesting voice! If you have trouble describing what happens, then maybe it's because nothing much is happening? In a dialogue scene where people stand around in a room, you don't really have much to work with. Or have you??? Alright, sorry 'bout that... You can describe many things between dialogue tags, however mundane it might be. If your description is funny, then I don't really care if what is described is "important". Another thing you can do is to go into the head of your POV character. I'll pick out an example from my (very rough) first draft, just to illustrate: { “We are here today to take on some new talent! We need someone of deep knowledge!” The old man tapped his head with a crooked finger. “Someone with a strong sense of justice!” He thumped his chest in an, apparently, just manner. “Most of all, we need someone who is in love with the adventure! A daring spirit!” These qualities were all noble to be sure. They were also somewhat absent in Lona, it had to be said. This would hardly be the first time she'd bull-shitted her way through an interview, but when the vigilant eye of Rauha met hers, she felt as transparent as a glass of coke – without the coke, of course. } I'm not the funniest guy myself, but I hope you get what I mean (With reservation for alcohol-induced bad spelling or advice)
This is definitely part of the problem. Nothing huge or climactic happens in my story, which is part of humor. So, tons of calm situations, where the real entertainment is stopped to be in the funny back-and-forth dialogue, and the wordplay. As for critique, already posted it here: https://www.writingforums.org/threads/lou-deadbeats-i-dont-have-a-title-yet-3k-words.163305/
Here's my workshop bit (note that I've changed the first couple of pages): https://www.writingforums.org/threads/lou-deadbeats-i-dont-have-a-title-yet-3k-words.163305/
Hmm.... a solution for this. You say this: Don't even bother. Get, at most, 15 or so words. If you need a thesuarus? Something's gone wrong. No one's going to applaud you on having lots of words which can be used for something else. It breaks narrative flow, and at worst can grind your story to a halt. Instead, have your characters do something while you describe them saying something. Like this: "What's he going to do," he laughed, as he swung open the door to the house. "Murder us all in our sleep?" Now, person number 1, is laughing and mocking the antagonist and his death threats. Normally, you can say 'he laughed', as he spoke the words. But here, person no. 1, is opening the door while doing it. This action is described in the context of going home, and there is no adjective or emphasis on it. In other words, the character's actions and behaviour is described as something excessively casual, putting more weight on his complete dismissal of the antagonist's threat level. [QUOTEI don't know how to describe a scene well, ][/QUOTE] Sit down at a place. What do you smell? How do you feel? What do you see? What do you hear? What is the activity around you? What is the lighting? Different moods and lightings convey different emotions. What is the space like? Is it cluttered, wide open? Claustrophobia can give tension and the opposite can give a sensation of aimlessness. What is the smell? A musty smell of old age? Flowers of nature? Septic, like a hospital? Is it dirty or clean? Are there cobwebs, dusty floor, or is it way too clean? What is the disorder? Is it neat and tidy (this can either be for dissonance, or talk about a person or organisatino) or is it chaotic? (an attack has occurred, or it is to reflect someone's mental state). Look at body language (wait, are you talking about first or third person?). Think what a person does when he get angry, or sad, or anxious. Fidgeting, teeth clenching, drumming fingers, etc.... all things to convey emotion to the reader and to you. Make a list. You'll need it.
Writing descriptive language is a skill but it's one that can be learned by anyone. If you can visualise your scene that could help with description, i.e writing what you can see in your imagination or what first comes to mind. Or think how best to make your writing sharper and more engaging. For instance, instead of just describing a room and what you see, you could describe the mood of the room and how it makes you feel. Or you could describe the room and the objects which might have special meaning - like photographs and pictures which might carry special meaning or memory. The more character you give to a person or a place the more interesting the writing comes. If you write purely to be descriptive it will be very bland, coming off as factual or a bit dry. What you really want to do is engage the reader with senses, with sensual imagery or something with a little spice. Readers like emotion and they like to feel something. I think that's the main reason we read, to connect. So don't worry if you're not sure exactly how to describe something. It will come naturally in time. Trust yourself and don't take it too seriously!
Ask yourself this - how important is the description for the story you're writing? You say you're writing humour. Is the description of the scene going to add to the humour? Think about Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett. Adams doesn't describe the inside of the Vogon ship. I, as the reader, don't need to know what the room full of infinite monkeys looks like. If he tried to describe it, it would actually detract from the writing. Particularly in this genre, it's often best to leave it to the reader's imagination.
Ah, yes. This. Every single thing in the story, needs to add to it. Yes, you may have something to say. You may wish to painstakingly describe each and every little detail and action. Don't. Its not what you want to write, its what your reader wants to read. And no one wants to read things they aren't interested in.
If I could add one suggestion - which applies to any writing problem, I reckon - we all need a writing partner, somebody who can be tough, direct, honest. I had the pleasure of working for 11 years with a bloke who now earns his living by writing, and every day we'd swap our stuff (it was only business writing, not the creative stuff) - and we'd each edit the other person's prose. It was such an education. A forum like this is great for titbits of information, but to develop strong writing muscles we all need feedback, and lots of it. So try to seek out somebody who's as keen to develop as you are, and with whom you're confident enough to be honest. It's tough, but oh so helpful.
I think the best thing you can do is write some short scenes, not whole stories. Our writing group has a good exercise we do for fifteen to thirty minutes after our meetings. Six dice are rolled for genre, era, setting, items that must be used, etc. And everyone has five minutes to write a scene. Some of the stuff people come up with are incredible, and some may become first paragraphs for future stories. And such vignettes are much less intimidating than trying to write a whole story. It can sharpen all your skills, dialogue, action, description, narrative, without tying you to plot, character arc, pacing and other aspects of a complete work. We can come up with some unlikely scenarios: science fiction set in the Old West in a swamp, using a hammer? And just five minutes to tie that together!
I write Sci-fi, and much like Fantasy, have to do a balancing act to deliver just the right amount of descriptions. Too little and everyone wants more. Too much and they will complain that the story has taken a detour for no damn good reason to show the intricate details. With a Contemporary setting, you don't really have to spend a fair amount of time with describing things, cause we all kinda know how things look and work in our present day. So a car needs basically no explanation on how the combustion engine moves Don from his house to his dead end clerk job for the past 30 years. Conversely however, characters will note things that interest them in a given surrounding. Like the sexy babe/dude at the end of the bar drinking a beer that they think is not all that good. Or a small detail at the scene of a crime that no one else has picked up on, cause nobody else checked for DNA at the deepest recess of an under the stairs closet. It takes practice to be able to ad description to things, but you will get the hang of it. If you want a real challenge try writing a scene with absolutely no dialog. Well not in the traditional sense of it, since it all has to be inferred or implied, versus outright writing true dialogue. (Trust me, it is harder than you think, but doable.)
I especially like this advice. IMO, too many modern writers depend on dialogue to do most of the story's work. Dialogue is fantastic, in its place. It can reveal character and the nature of relationships better than just about anything else. But it moves fast. Too fast sometimes—giving very little time for a reader's thoughts about what they've been reading to sink in. Speed does not equal 'interesting.' Nor does slow equal 'boring.' Content is the key. There is a lot more to story settings, events and ...life itself ...than just what people say to each other, or what their speech implies. Cave Troll's advice gives you a chance to explore those other things. And gives your reader a chance to settle in and look around.
Kind of funny. I posted something about this kinda fing a while back. I’ve noticed when I write I either use nothing but dialogue or nothing but description - I find either particularly hard, but I do feel like I often get the blend wrong when mixing the two.
Maybe you don't need it. I don't know for sure, but I think most scripts are words and instructions with sparing detail. Two characters enter. It's a sunny outdoor cafe. Sound of birds. Try this, though. If you need to add detail, write your dialogue (which seems to flow naturally) and then go back and read it a few times. How do you picture this being read? Is there anything to emphasize? Are characters doing anything during the lines? Describe anything which stands out to you. It may be hard to express the emotion too because it may already be implied. I hope this helped. I believe this is what you were asking in the question but I wasn't sure.
You know it's interesting you mention an over abundance of dialog as I'm reading an old book now that has no dialog whatsoever (or very little, just started.) Perhaps look into heavily descriptive books to read for inspiration and guidance. I think a large part of it is getting inside the head of your characters. Even the funniest comedian has other parts to him that have nothing to do with comedy. Letting seemingly benign character traits blossom can help establish a stronger connection between your character and the reader and almost certainly strengthen the comedic moments and the jokes\banter.
