I've a simple technique that's wonderful for getting color, dialogue that's realistic, and learning different perspectives. Years ago, at a food court in a mall, I found a perfect table where I could sit with my then clunky, big laptop (notebook PC) and write. I don't care much about what other people talk about, but I noted that there was rich dialogue being shared whether I wanted to hear it or not. Nothing could be further from me than being some teenage girls talking about other girls who went by. Vicious, funny, some great throw away lines. This provided some great scenes for characters very much unlike me, but very realistic. While I might have dreamed up something passable, this was instead, realistic, jaded and contemporary. Another time two old African-American guys were talking about hard times, scraping by and drinking. They shared a marvelous sense of humor and a great outlook, spiced with some past mischief and salted with old fashioned period slang. The timing of comments, the natural 'punchlines' to observations, and points of view were great. You might not need something now, but nothing should be wasted.
Good stuff. The best dialogue is from life. Conversations in life are not so linear and purpose driven as often happens in writing. In real life, people are trying get their own point in on a conversation, trying to be funny, sometimes miss the point of what the other person was saying and all that stuff. A well formed character is going to have dialogue traits and observing how people talk in real life is a great way to see that. Good post!
Mmhm, I love listening to how people talk. I get the train a lot, so I'm always listening out to everyone as we travel... Sometimes I even talk to them. I went through a phase of practically interviewing a travel companion every few weeks. It's good to talk to new people. They tell you so much about themselves when they know they'll never see you again.
Lothgar, let's see...an example. The strongest of the girls' quotes which comes readily to my mind: One girl eying another, talking to her friends, "Uh, uh, she's not wearing that, not here. She's got no back for it, and why is she here? She's got no money to be shopping. Why is that girl smiling about anything?" That's a tremendous amount of showing VS telling in establishing a character, a setting, perhaps even a hint of forshadowing in just a small group of words. Dialogue can be tremendous for advancing a story and giving it life. We know a lot about the speaker, including her perspectives, education, background, culture, and yet we've gotten a perspective and glance at another character. This is why I love dialogue for voice, plot and character development.
My husband thinks it's weird that I listen in on people's conversations, but I always knew there was a reason for it...I don't even think about it or realize it's happening, I just do it. Honestly, though, it has never crossed my mind to use things I hear people say in real life in my writing. Glad you posted this. I got some nice dialogue that I could use for a skeevy, sexist, dirtbag character while we were out to dinner last night.
My husband thinks it's weird that I listen in on people's conversations, but I always knew there was a reason for it...I don't even think about it or realize it's happening, I just do it. Honestly, though, it has never crossed my mind to use things I hear people say in real life in my writing. Glad you posted this. I got some nice dialogue that I could use for a skeevy, sexist, dirtbag character while we were out to dinner last night. That's fantastic and precisely what I'm talking about! No one in my personal life is similar to the people I overheard, UNINTENTIONALLY, in that Mall food court, yet they could be close to characters I'm working on or are on the back burner.
I love listening to other people's conversations; gives me inspiration for characters and plots sometimes.
writers have always used people-watching/listening to inform and enrich their work... now that we have wireless laptops and even smaller devices at our fingertips, it just makes it that much easier than the old notebook and pen/pencil [or sneaky tape-recorder] method... in my old writing for money life, i wrote in bars, restaurants, and while traveling via all modes of transportation, soaking up the rich and varied 'flavors' of any unsuspecting future 'characters' within range... doing so also added interesting acquaintances and even long-lasting relationships to my life...
