I have a problem with storytelling. Seems silly really but i just can't write in the mindset of the character and end up jumping to dialogue after a clouple of paragraphs. Dialogue just seems to creep up on me and i end up writing that more that telling the reader what's going through her/his mind. This has worried me because other writers don't use dialogue half as much as i do and i'm starting to wonder whether i should revise the way i structure my chapters or keep going. Is dialogue just as important as prose or should i simply stick to dialogue being a couple of lines and write prose to fill the gaps?
everything is important however why disrespect inspiration ,if you have the dialouge to carry the story to the plot's finish line run with it , solider the phuck on . once a 1st draft is complete , work on the narrative in your revisions.... do not let perfection be your opressor ....create , create , create ..ya dig
Actually, prose is boring and should only be used minimally. Most novice writers use it way too much. As long as you have enough prose in your story for the whole thing to make sense, then you're doing it right.
Dialogue is PART of prose, unless you're turning it into a script? The dialogue is fine - I use tons of dialogue - but just remember to put proper action around it. Don't just have your characters freeze in space, recite 100 lines, then start up again when you realise they need to move to end the scene/get to the next place. Mix actions in amongst the speech, whether they're just scratching their noses, or talking as they hike/commit murders/play tennis... ANYTHING to keep your characters moving. Dialogue is fine as long as you don't let it stagnate in a pool of nothing but a few floating "he/she said"s. You KNOW the characters aren't just frozen in place as you write it, so take one of your scenes, look at it, and think, "what are they doing?" Once you start putting in stuff around the speech it won't feel quite so blocked off from the rest of the narration, and will feel a more natural part of it, and you won't have to worry
Where did you ever get this idea? Because it's wrong. Prose is not boring. Boring is boring. There is such a thing as interesting and exciting prose. Many writers (alas, I'm one of them) write too much dull prose and have to go back and cut out the boringness. But it isn't the fact that it's prose that makes it boring. It's the fact that it's not narrated well. Writing good prose that keeps the reader's interest is an art form and most novice writers haven't mastered it. Saying that prose is boring is like saying the violin (for example) is a bad instrument simply because you haven't learned to play it properly. But in the hands of an expert, it's wonderful.
Ever heard of people saying that the book was better than the movie version. Prose is the factor that makes the difference, and prose includes both narrations and dialogues. Dialogue or narration, too much without purpose is always bad.
Many beginning writers go through a stage where they favor dialogue very heavily in their stories. It's normal, or at least not unusual. Many of the stories written during this time won't be all that good, but they will help you to develop your craft just like any kind of fiction writing will. So keep going, don't worry about revising (if you're still in a dialogue phase you'll just frustrate yourself) and write the next thing, and the next. Eventually you'll grow out of it.
Thanks for providing an opinion on this. I'm onto my second draft now and though i seem to be writing more prose to do with how my main character perceives things dialogues still creeping in. I think my problem with prose is that i think i'm telling the reader instead of showing. I mean, don't we usually make assumptions due to what people say and how they come across? But this is just my thoughts. What are yours?
You don't need to write thoughs, you can thoughs be expressed through avtion, what the character say and don't say, or even more indirect means, like description of the setting. But for this to work, you need to have at least some idea of what is going on in the characters head.
I find my first drafts are always dialogue heavy its a good thing it is you getting to know the characters, them getting to know you and them each other - prose gets added once I know the story better.
I tend to do that, once I've got the framework of a chapter I go back and add stuff (like thoughts, more descriptive actions and such) really, sometimes one just needs to get down the basic idea down first, the rest will follow.
I used to have the opposite problem when I first turned my hand to writing. I didn't have enough dialogue. Now it seems to come very intuitively; it's as if I can follow its rhythm and flow in my head.
