Sunday, January 30, 2011

...blah blah birds!

did you ever read stuff characters said where they just said “blah blah blah?” and you said YIKES! that was sooooo B-O-R-I-N-G!!! and then you thought what they said didnt add not one thing to the story. thats cause theyre blah blah birds. but i just gotta say its not their fault cause theyre just saying what their writer said they should say. for sure i dont want my characters to turn into blah blah birds.

so whys that dialogue stuff important anyway? its got two BIG things it could do for a story. it could get you knowing lots more about a character just from his words and it could be a big help for keeping the plot moving

“A few good lines of dialogue can reveal more about your characters than an entire page of description. Dialogue is one of your most powerful tools, so let it work for you. Use it to move your story along, show the readers what your characters are made of, and deepen the drama.” ellen potter (on my ps so you could know who she is) WOW how cool is that!

heres some neat stuff for helping do good dialogue

1. watch and listen to people

2. write so it reads like how people really talk but for sure take out the boring stuff

3. dialogue shouldnt give so much away that it messes up the flow of the story

4. break up dialogue with action stuff cause long dialogues could get boring for the reader

5. be careful on using labels and cuss words and slang stuff it could be a distract for the reader

theres lots more good stuff for doing good dialogues and im gonna do some more posts on it.

are your characters blah blah birds or do they say really neat unboring stuff that keeps your story moving?

…hugs from lenny

ps… lots of what i got on the post i learned from a book that miss dianne salerni gave and its called spilling ink a young writers handbook by anne mazer and ellen potter. thanks miss dianne!

and click here for a place i used thats got really good tips for doing good dialogue

40 comments:

  1. I definitely have to work on adding more action.

    Great list, Lenny!

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  2. That is terribly wise advice I need to remember! Thanks Lenny!

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  3. although it's a book for young writers, i think a lot of adult writers can use this advice... myself included. thanks for sharing.
    miss clarissa

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  4. Lenny you are so right...for me number five is a big distraction for me. I find bad words a distraction. I can see them sometimes in dialogue, but most people don't wlak around using them all of the time....

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  5. Sounds like a good book! One of my favorite writing books is for young writer's, also. It's called Writing Magic and it's by Gail Carson Levine. My kids and I like to do the writing exercises together. I'll have to look for the one Miss Dianne gave you because it sounds like one we'd like to read as well.

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  6. This is great. And I love writing dialogue. I think they work out well for me.

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  7. tons of great tips here! thanks lenny! :)

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  8. Very nice advice on dialogue...which is an area that I need to improve on :)
    This was a super helpful post, Lenny. Thanks!

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  9. Great list of tips Lenny. I'm going to make sure my characters aren't blah blah blah birds right now. :)

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  10. Excellent tip, Lenny!LOL. Blah blah birds. LOVE it! PS: you're so sweet for putting me under your Authors links. hehe. You even fixed a mock cover! You rock star!

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  11. Great post Lenny. I do hate those Blah blah birds.

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  12. Great advice, Lenny! It's definitely something to remember about dialogue. I hear saying your dialogue out loud can help too. :)

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  13. Great advice, Lenny. I need to work more on my dialogue. I don't want any of those blah blah birds in my writing.

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  14. Great tips bud! I hate boring dialogue:)

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  15. This is an awesome post, Lenny! I like the tips and thanks for the links, I will surely visit them! :)

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  16. Dialogue can be tough. In my first draft some of characters are blah blah blah birds. I'm always grateful we have the chance to go back and edit out the stuff we realize doesn't work.

    Great tips, Lenny - thanks!!!

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  17. Lenny, I am going to bring my English classes to your blog this week and show them all this post! Great job, Lenny. There's a lot of good information here. :-)

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  18. LOL! I love the blah, blah, blah birds! But I don't want them anywhere near my writing! =)

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  19. I sure hope I don't have blah, blah birds in my book!! (I'll double check later...) :) Great advice, Lenny! Thanks ~ Happy Tuesday!

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  20. That's a great list, Lenny! Usually my characters don't talk ENOUGH! Speak up, already, characters! Don't think so much. :)

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  21. You come up with summa' the best advice for us, Lenny. I am gonna' use your tips to guide me in keeping my stories smooth. For sure, they are gonna' be a big help. Thanks.

    ~ Yaya

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  22. When people aren't good with dialogue it's not fun to read. I agree - boring!

    Dialogue is a good way to show about the character instead of telling the reader. Thanks for the tips, Lenny.

    Happy Groundhog Day to you too!

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  23. I like how you said to take out the boring stuff. That's the kicker in all writing. Take out the boring stuff. Everything else will be awesome. :)

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  24. Great tips! Love the blah blah birds!

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  25. Lenny, for a young writer, you sure know what you're talking about! I was just reading a book that had some Blah Blah Birds in it and I thought how the author could have made the book so much tighter, had he just takin out a lot of the useless dialogue! As I finish some edits, I'll be sure to leave the Blah Blah OUT!!! ;)

    Talk soon!

    Hilary

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  26. You always give such great advice! And you make it fun to read. Now I won't be able to write dialogue without thinking of the blah, blah bird. :D

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  27. Hi Lenny .. what a wonderful post - no "bla bla" there .. and you are so right - we need to engage our readers ... and you sure do just that.

    Have a great weekend - what's left of it .. are you doing the Super Bowl watch? I bet you and your brothers will be ..

    and is it still snowing there?

    Funny weather around the world everyone's having .. difficult for many people too ..

    Happy days .. cheers Hilary

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  28. It's so true that dialogue is an excellent way for the reader to learn more about the characters and the storyline. Great tips, Lenny!

    Jai

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  29. You are the such a smart kid, Lenny.
    Dialogue is my favorite part to write.

    Blah blah birds! Nope, we don't want them. ;)

    Hugs,
    Lola

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  30. I hate reading what Blah Blah Birds have to say! Great tips on dialogue -- thanks for sharing what you're learning!

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  31. Great tips, Lenny! That book sounds like a great one. :o) Hugs!

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  32. Hey Lenny, thanks for stopping by. I've had strep and bad sinus issues, but I'm feeling much better, thanks. I've missed blogging!!!!

    You have some great advice here, and some good links. Thanks. I hope I don't have any blah blah birds in my wip. Love the 'blah blah birds' by the way. Cool!

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  33. Lenny, I agree that dialogue is so important. Your pointers for good dialogue are spot-on!

    Becca @ The Bookshelf Muse

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  34. I often find that I have to go back through my dialogue passages and make lots of cuts so only the really good stuff is left. Otherwise, it certainly can get boring!

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  35. Great job on this Lenny! :)

    Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse

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  36. I'm a serious people watcher, so that helps. My voices tend to be a little dramatic and I find myself having to pull myself back. Hmm, maybe that's cause I'm dramatic? LOL.

    Good post!

    ~JD

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  37. Great tips and nice blog! Thanks for stopping my mine and leaving a comment about my first line. ;)

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  38. Thinking about you, Lenny, and wondering how you are doing. Just had a little time to visit some blogs for a change, so of course I wanted to come by yours!

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Whatever wonderful, witty and wise words you manage to come up with!