Write Great Fiction - Dialogue (Write Great Fiction Series)

Write Great Fiction - Dialogue (Write Great Fiction Series)
by Gloria Kempton

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Book Summary Information

Author: Gloria Kempton
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-10-26
ISBN: 1582972893
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Writers Digest Books

Book Reviews of Write Great Fiction - Dialogue (Write Great Fiction Series)

Book Review: Not As Good As It Looks
Summary: 1 Stars

This book attempts to be comprehensive. It breaks down dialogue based on genre type. It offers these categories to sort and understand dialogue: magical, cryptic, descriptive, shadowy, breathless, provocative, and uncensored.

While I think the attempt is admirable, and perhaps the exercises could be useful for some, it falls flat, and I'm going to try and show you why I feel this is so. It's the magical/fantasy dialogue section that is particularly worthless and the biggest reason I gave this book one star.

In her example of "magical" dialogue she uses a brief excerpt from Lord of the Rings, part of which goes like this: ""No, Sam!" said Frodo. "Do not kill him even now. For he has not hurt me."

Almost everyone has heard of Tolkien, and, wonderful as he was, *no one* cites Tolkien for his snappy, award-winning dialogue. It simply was not his strong point.

She claims the dialogue from that example is "eloquent" because it does not use contractions, and also "direct" which she supports by this further example from the same text, "But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither."

Direct, according to thefreedictionary, "Straightforward and candid; frank"

Let me show you direct: "Die." Or, "I hate you." Or, possibly, "Death comes quickly." And so on. If there is one thing such 'magical' dialogue is not, it would be direct. (Or advisable. It's usually just plain bad writing.)

Despite her claim that she does not read much Romance because romance authors often write dialogue which does not 'transcend' our modern culture which leaves their 'magical' dialogue sounding "hokey" (her word), she claims that if you want to be a successful fantasy or science fiction author, you must master the art of 'magical' dialogue which is all about this attempt at transcendence. So, romance and fantasy should have similar cheesy dialogue. The more cheese, the closer it is to real romance, or fantasy, or science fiction.

That is utter dreck. If you want to go back in time and become a writer then by all means follow her advice. If you'd like to become a successful author today you'd have an easier time of it if you never got this book - unless you buy it only to know What Not To Do. Instead, read widely both in and outside your usual preferences/genre to get a better understanding of what's being published today.

Dialogue is about the character's voice - Gloria Kempton gets this confused with style assumptions based on genre. And it's not just fantasy. Her opinions and examples in general were lacking. I'm not saying that an inventive person would find nothing of use - especially if writing is completely new - but I believe the damage to a new writer could be astonishing if they took everything she said to heart.

The magical dialogue is just a nice name for hokey dialogue, if that's something you aim for then follow her advice advice. If it isn't, you would be far happier, and receive far better advice, if you stick with the other books in the series and ignore this one. Nancy Kress's "Beginnings, Middles & Ends" is a great pick, so is Orson Scott Card's "Characters & Viewpoints". Stephen King's "On Writing" is another good pick.

All in all, I highly recommend you do not buy this book. It is a flat out waste of time and money and could even make your writing journey more difficult.

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Summary of Write Great Fiction - Dialogue (Write Great Fiction Series)

Craft Compelling Dialogue

When should your character talk, what should (or shouldn't) he say, and when should he say it? How do you know when dialogue–or the lack thereof–is dragging down your scene? How do you fix a character who speaks without the laconic wit of the Terminator?

Write Great Fiction: Dialogue by successful author and instructor Gloria Kempton has the answers to all of these questions and more! It's packed with innovative exercises and instruction designed to teach you how to:

Create dialogue that drives the story
Weave dialogue with narrative and action
Write dialogue that fits specific genres
Avoid the common pitfalls of writing dialogue
Make dialogue unique for each character

Along with dozens of dialogue excerpts from today's most popular writers, Write Great Fiction: Dialogue gives you the edge you need to make your story stand out from the rest.

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