by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
For this first draft of my first novel, I’ve lulzed worrying about the finer points of dialogue. I just go with my gut and write something, anything to so I can wrap up a solid first draft.
But once I finally get around to the second draft, I’m really going to be a lot more careful about the technical elements of dialogue in the sense that I need to make all the characters sound different as well as make what and how they talk engaging.
I have a number of books that I’ve been reading on the subject, but, to date, I really haven’t found them all that helpful. Pretty much all they say is, “Nobody knows nothing — just study people and play it by ear.”
But there are things you can do, I suppose, to improve your dialogue. And, as part of the general process of taking things to the next level between the first and second draft, I’m going to be a lot more careful about the dialogue I write.
I have the basic framework of a really, really good pop novel. I just need to put on my big boy pants and take things a lot more seriously going forward once I start working on the second draft early next year (at least, according the way things are going at the moment.)
Anyway. Wish me luck.
