Tag Archives: dialogue

Professional Wednesday: Eliminating Excess Verbiage, Part II

Posted on April 26, 2023 by dbjackson

Last week, I revisited an old Magical Words post I’d done about eliminating excess verbiage in our writing, putting a new spin on the discussion. As promised, I would like to continue that conversation today. Before I dive back into … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: “Hidden Brain,” Perception, and Fiction

Posted on October 5, 2022 by dbjackson

On a recent drive I began listening to the Hidden Brain podcast, with the brilliant Shankar Vedantam. I had listened to scattered episodes before, but never in a systematic way. But this was a long drive and I wound up … Continue reading →

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Creative Wednesday: Communicating Our World Building To Our Readers

Posted on December 1, 2021 by dbjackson

Tomorrow night, I will be giving a talk on world building here at the university, in a themed residential house devoted to writing. The students from the house, at least those I’ve met so far, are earnest and passionate and … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Dialogue Attribution Revisited

Posted on December 16, 2020 by dbjackson

So why am I revisiting the topic now? The short answer is it’s Joshua Palmatier’s fault. Maybe I should give you the long answer.   Back in the early spring — it feels like a hundred years ago now — … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Crutch Words — Finding Them and Limiting Them

Posted on September 23, 2020 by dbjackson

Last week, John Hartness, my good friend and the owner and editor at Falstaff Books, posted on Facebook about something he was seeing while editing manuscripts. Many of his writers were starting too many lines of dialogue with, “So…” As … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Dialogue, Part I

Posted on April 1, 2020 by dbjackson

I love writing dialogue, in part because I love reading dialogue. I believe that people are natural eavesdroppers. We like to listen in on other people’s conversations. That’s what reading dialogue is all about – it is one of the … Continue reading →

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Writing Tip: What to do with All Those Rules

Posted on April 11, 2012 by dbjackson

You’ve heard the rules before:  Don’t write in first person.  Don’t write in present tense.  Don’t start your book or story with dialogue.  Don’t use adverbs.  Don’t use said-bookisms.  Don’t switch point of view from one character to another in … Continue reading →

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Flash Writing Tip! Dialogue Attribution Exercise

Posted on March 10, 2012 by dbjackson

I’m about to be on the road for a while, taking my daughter on a college tour through the Southeast.  I’ll try to post regularly from the road, but I won’t have as much time for longer posts.  So, as … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: More on Dialogue — Conversations As Narrative

Posted on January 27, 2012 by dbjackson

The other day, in my first Writing Tips post, I wrote about said-bookisms and the challenges of dialogue attribution.  Just to reiterate, the key to effective dialogue attribution is showing readers the emotions and thoughts of those characters who speak … Continue reading →

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Writing Tips: Said-Bookisms, the Obscure Sin that Can Doom a Manuscript

Posted on January 25, 2012 by dbjackson

I’ve been writing professionally for more than fifteen years, and I’ve been reading avidly for far longer.  Over the years the publishing market has seen sea-changes in almost every respect, with ramifications for the business, the very act of reading, … Continue reading →

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