Triumph of Love

[thoreau]

Tonight - my season at California Shakespeare continues with their non-Shakespeare selection of the season. A french play titled Triumph of Love a romantic comedy by Pierre Marivaux. I love live theater - it's very exciting! One of the best decisions I made during the winter blues - was to buy this subscription. Man and Superman was MARVELOUS! I'm looking forward to tonight's play.

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I had a brainblast last night - and was up till 1am - working on the first block of serious dialogue for the new work. Dialogue is HARD to write without it sounding boring boring boring!

This particular section of dialogue - since it hits me directly - is particularly difficult but a very important launching point into the new material. Robert has to hit Bill right between the eyes - but in a gentle way that will make him want to keep the conversation going. Bill (me) breaks into a "my ex this and my ex that" diatribe - and Robert has to stop him and say "I don't hear you loving yourself anywhere in this story? When did you forget to love yourself?" which leads the set up of Rumi's poetry and a zen/buddhist journey into self.

So last night I did an Anne Lamott lesson and spoke my conversation between Bill and Robert into a tape recorder. I'll listen to it tomorrow night (my next writing opportunity) and think it through. I want Robert's reactions to Bill's story to be compassionate - yet with enough "get over it miss thing" to be real. I want Bill to be stung by Robert's appraisals but not be devastated. The key being that each chapter afterwards will begin with a letter exchange between the two - and events in both of their lives connecting back to a different Rumi poem in each chapter.

I know that this project sounds esoteric and unapproachable - but with finesse and polish (e.g. months and months of work) I think I'm onto something personally - that other folks might want to read.

Comments

[septimuswarren.livejournal.com]

One of the things I think you should consider is working on dialogue that flows so well that you don't need to explain who said what in terms of I said, or he replied, or I exclaimed. I have read the first chapter that you sent to me and that was one of the things I was going to bring up to you. For me, if dialogue is well written then the reader knows who has spoken without needing to be told.

Always of the belief that studying others who have come before us, if you're interested in doing this I would recommend reading the short stories of Raymond Carver, especially the story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love." I would also recommend the story stories of Grace Paley.

Recording the dialogue and listening to it is a great idea, however.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

one of the only things I was truly dissapointed in HOUSE OF WOLVES was the dialogue - it felt didactic and preachy often. (sigh) but show me a writer that loves writing dialogue they are probably strung out on drugs and emotional basket cases.

[septimuswarren.livejournal.com]

It's not about loving or even liking writing dialogue, it's about writing good dialogue.

My suggestions are that you take a class in short story/novel writing and/or you hire someone to read your work, someone who does this professionally who can give you honest and open feedback without being afraid that they are going to hurt or insult you. You need honest feedback, even if it's brutal at times, but honest feedback from someone who is not your friend or family member.

Hiring an agent and an editor are also suggestions.

We'll talk more about this later.

[low-fat-muffin.livejournal.com]

yeah - once a rough draft is done I'll approach the "road to publishing" far differently.

btw - you are bestest friend - (huggage!)