{"id":9678,"date":"2020-10-28T07:15:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T14:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/?p=9678"},"modified":"2020-10-27T11:54:46","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T18:54:46","slug":"boost-dialogue-with-beats-prompt-532","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/boost-dialogue-with-beats-prompt-532\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost Dialogue with Beats . . . Prompt #532"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Too much dialogue can be boring to read. Interspersing action with dialogue makes a story interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In real life, we don\u2019t talk without movement, neither should characters on a page. Plus, action gives clues to the character\u2019s personality, habits, status and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI dunno,\u201d Remy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, kind of boring. But what if detail were added:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI dunno,\u201d Remy said, polishing the top of his boot along the back of his jeans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readers can \u201csee\u201d this action and learn more about Remy\u2019s character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beats<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDialogue benefits from variety. A good way to maintain reader\u2019s interest is to insert a variety of beats into dialogue. Beats are descriptions of physical action that fall between lines of speech.\u201d \u2014\u201cAmp Up Dialogue With Emotional Beats,\u201d by Todd A. Stone, Nov\/Dec 2010 Writers Digest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facial Expressions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Facial expressions signal emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen a character raises an eyebrow or furrows his brow, this action, or beat, interrupts the dialogue and telegraphs a change in the character\u2019s emotional state. As an exchange progresses and the emotional intensity rises\u2014as the character\u2019s dissatisfaction grows into anger, for instance\u2014a character might set his jaw, bite his lip or narrow his gaze. His eyes may darken, his face may redden, his nostrils may flare and so on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch a TV show with the sound off. See how actors use facial expressions to signal emotions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Physicality<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, facial expressions aren\u2019t the only way to physically show emotions. Body language can indicate a range of emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCharacters can point, steeple their fingers, clench hands into fists, pound tables, hold their hands up to surrender, cross their arms in front of their chests, throw up hands in resignation or despair.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Movement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCharacters can cross the room, push back from a desk or table to get physical and emotional distance from a heated conversation, an intimate moment or another character. They can move in closer to become more threatening or more intimate, or to drive a point home. Use movement to support and enhance your dialogue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bigger Moves<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf it fits your character, use big actions: Throw a fit, throw a plate or throw a punch. If your character has a hair-trigger temper, bypass eyebrow raisings and go straight to breaking furniture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure the actions are consistent with the character\u2019s traits. Every action should be a reflection of the character\u2019s objectives and emotions, and of the scene. If the character seldom shows emotion, focus on small details that show true feelings, a tightening around the eyes, a deliberate forcefulness in each step as he walks across the room, a tense grip on a pen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have a work in process see where you can add beats to dialogue.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prompt:<\/strong> Recall a recent conversation. Write it out, including physical gestures, facial expressions, and movement. Write as if you are writing a scene for a character to act out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Too much dialogue can be boring to read. Interspersing action with dialogue makes a story interesting. In real life, we don\u2019t talk without movement, neither should characters on a page. Plus, action gives clues to the character\u2019s personality, habits, status and more. For example: \u201cI dunno,\u201d Remy said. Well, kind of boring. But what if […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[1428,1429,1165],"class_list":["post-9678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prompts","tag-dialogue","tag-how-to-write-dialogue","tag-just-write-writing-freely-the-write-spot-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43Dj8-2w6","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9678"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9680,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9678\/revisions\/9680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewritespot.us\/marlenecullenblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}