(Just getting in the Halloween spirit. Took this photo while visiting my brother in T.N. when we went to the Union Station Hotel.) So I may have a bit of a setback. While editing today I noticed something off about the little icon that tells you how much battery you have left on your comp. It was loosing power faster than normal and when I plugged it in, it seems to have gotten stuck at 88%. Might just be a bad outlet but I'll have to monitor it. Just when I get my art computer back my writing computer starts to die... what's up with that? If it does turn out to be something with the battery (hope this has nothing to do with having kept it plugged in during the storm we had last night) I'll have less time to edit the novel since I can't tote around my art computer... and I was making such progress -_-
Now on to today's topic. Dialogue.
Dialogue can play a key part in character development and dynamic. Even if a character cannot speak they still have inner thought which can reflect on actions that have or have not occurred and the words they cannot speak may provoke the voices of others. I guess a good example of that would be found in the web comic Strays by Samantha Whitten & Stacey Pefferkorn. (I do suggest you stop by, its a great story with amazing art.)
In my novel I had a lot of scenes driven by dialogue which illustrated the clashing personalities of my two main characters but as one character changed the dynamic also changed, removing the necessity of many of their conversations. While I found many of these conversations witty and comical if not provocative, I now find that while I still do like the scripting and wish to keep the ideas, I just can't find a place for them anymore. None the less I hold on to the bits long enough to see if there is any chance for them as I cut down the chapters, eventually finding the strength to just let them go so the chapter can run smoother and the scene gets to the point faster. It does bug me a little when things tend to get to the point too fast, for example- the characters enter a town and less than five minutes in they encounter the antagonist and action ensues right after an eventful... event, an example being the film "Clash of the Titans" 2010 version where it was action after action with little pause and time to develop characters and their relationships with both their teams and the villains, but some people like that, getting bored of a story too soon when there is down time, and some publishers like that to for the same reason. But really that is up to you. There will always be readers out there who will love your writing and those who don't for one reason or another. Never let that deter you. You write for the love of writing, your story and your characters. Your audience comes second because everyone is different, everyone has their own tastes. Let them have the challenge of finding that book and earning the rewards of discovering their heart through the world that lies beyond the cover.
Just some thoughts.
Now dare I risk turning on my editing computer to do a little more editing?
Maybe
AH! and I just added a header to the Blog. Small portion of a larger image from the cover for JBtM before the book was split. Dunno if I will be keeping this but it's better than what had been there. Enjoy!
