How do activities that characters might do during a dialog come to you?

What the characters are doing during the dialogue very much dictates the beats. If they're doing the grocery shopping together the beats would be stuff like:

"I've no idea," Julie said coldly, scrutinising the nutritional information on the side of the cornflakes pack to show her lack of interest.

The best answer you've had so far is from @jannert a couple of posts above. Take her advice and apply it best you can.

 

Surrealscenes, sometimes, I sit there with my hands in my lap just starring. Lol.

But it is a good idea reminding myself what I do in public when taking with others.

 

I like this example, OurJud. This is exactly what I meant. You add to the scene by giving Julie something to do with the beat. Plotting comes easier to me than these beats.

 

Hi Jannert,

Thanks for your solid advice. I get your point. I however don't seem to be the only one having problems with the beats because there are now books like the Emotion Thesaurus.

I have another full-time job. Don't depend on making money with writing, so I really can take my time.

 

I assume that you were hungry when you wrote the above or it was short before dinner time ChickenF, but that is okay. Maybe you are a natural beat writer or you take your time or both.

 

I checked the free section of this book on Amazon. Interesting read. Dark but entertaining. He skipped beats and tags a lot.

 

Yes but bare in mind he's quite unique on this. It's not the norm but does demonstrate how dialogue can be done without tags and beats.

 

That is how it starts. If 2 people are talking in a kitchen, they will be doing something different than 2 people in a warehouse, bar, movie theater, shopping mall, etc. A scene set in a moving vehicle is a great way to show the quirks of 2 people talking (or not).

 

I like writing dialogue. Not that I'm good at it, but, becoming effective with dialogue is a goal of mine. I believe that a few choice lines of dialogue can really connect the reader with the characters and pull them into the story. That said, that is not for every story and every writer. It is the kind of writer I want to be and the stories I would like to tell.
Advice that guides my approach to a scene with dialogue is'begin late and end early'. The reader doesn't need to hear the start and stopping on an entire conversation, even short ones. Once the conversation begins, I use tags simply to allow the reader to skim the lines without having to stop to orientate themselves to who is talking. I use beats to keep the conversation anchored in the setting, what the characters are doing and the passage of time. Tags and beats, in my opinion, are there to keep the reader in the flow of the dialogue without drawing the reader out from the dialogue.
Godspeed!

 

I'd say your example was dialogue followed by an unrelated action. I thought a beat was supposed to compliment the dialogue somehow?

 

I think it varies based on the tone of the dialogue. Some things
just can't be conveyed by action, depending on the character.
So you can't avoid tags entirely. But maybe you can, IDK,
I am not a strong writer and like to try cracking a joke in the
middle of an intense moment for a bit levity. Without some
tags you can't contrast between scene and dialogue. That and
during the course of a long conversation, most change tone and
expression between discussion topics.

So yes you can simply have some one nod or shake their head
to a simple question. But for more complex and lengthy dialogue
and questions, will have more of a response than simply making
a motion. It all falls down to your characters persona.
Take a look at an extreme example, such as having a battle hardened
soldier vs. a petite woman, and have them put in a situation where
they are about to be tortured and they both have the same information.
See what I mean that actions cannot always express the tone of the
situation. Sometimes you have to mix tags and actions, or it won't
have the same effect of using one over the other.

IDK, I am bad this writing thing, but I try to have a decent thought
once in a while. (Also my dialogue is not the strongest, but it is
getting better.)

 

I like to do four things -- look to setting. Setting offers props, things to eye (distractions) or touch or do, feelings like weather, an uncomfortable chair, an awful piece of cake the character is avoiding eating but doesn't want to hurt her friend feelings etc.
Conflict - like the cake thing - whenever I went to my friend's birthday part as a kid the conversation would get awkward when the cake was brought out -her mother was a cake decorator and I could never stand icing - it was quite awkward. The conflict in the dialogue can be relayed in gestures, lies, obscuring, things that aren't said. What's the conflict in the conversation
Emotions - people carry a lot of baggage - sometimes conversations are covering for past or present hurts, and certain words can be keys to past pain. You might think they mean nothing but ... they mean something. Someone talking about how their son disappointing them about trivial things could annoy her friend if she hasn't heard from her own son in years. They could get snippy for no apparent reason. This could be the moment to offer the reader some insight -- the character doesn't have to be doing anything, just wishing or desiring something. During one of my conversations in my WIP my 14 year old mc is saying goodbye to his best friend whom he won't see for six months and hopes his friend will hug him goodbye as he's too embarrassed to make the gesture himself.
Reactions - there's also reactions to what's being said. Cringes, guffaws, eye brow raising, stomping off, a sucker punch, swallowing your pride, apologizing, faking interest, tuning people out, etc.

Dialogue is less about info and more about showcasing the character's identity by how they respond and how the others respond to their response. How they make themselves appear and how they are perceived.

 

That. Right now I go about 50/50 and trying to lessen the info.

 

Most of my brainstorming comes from using knowledge and observations of body language during certain contexts. I try to make every action during dialogue say something that the character isn't, or at least emphasize what is being said.

 

I view things in my head like I'm watching a movie. I will do a rough draft blow by blow to get the basic down before going back through later and polishing up emotions and other important things. Better to have a base to work with then to struggle to push words to the key board.