Ephraim asks: “Is there a golden ratio for narration/dialog in fiction? How do I know if I have too much of one or the other?”
Resources Mentioned:
Edgar Allan Poe, The Works of
They’re Made Out of Meat by Terry Bisson (from his collection Bears Discover Fire)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Roland asks: “Can you elaborate on changes in conversational style and dialog tags then (1960s and earlier) vs. now? Are these changes linear or cyclical?”
Resources Mentioned
At the Mountains of Madness by H.P. Lovecraft
Conan the Barbarian Series by Robert E Howard
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
The Red Wind by Raymond Chandler
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemmingway
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Tom Swift and His Jetmarine by Victor Appleton II
Mort by Terry Pratchett
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
Every Day Novelist Deep Characterization Series
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
Reave the Just by Stephen R. Donaldson
Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice
The Bad Sex in Fiction Awards
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Brian asks: I noticed that I’m mostly writing description, so decided to write a dialog only chapter. What do you think of this approach?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Roland asks: What’s the right balance between using dialog tags and replacing them with action? Are there genre conventions regarding this?
Resources Mentioned:
The Complete Book of Screenwriting, by J. Michael Straczynski
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Robert asks: Kids swear, but publishers and buyers of kids’ books frown on swearing. How do to keep it real without offending the gatekeepers?
This episode sponsored by BundleRabbit
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
JR asks: “How do I convey that characters are swearing, if the publisher won’t allow swear words?”
Resources:
Suave Rob’s Rough-n-Ready Rugrat Rapture
The Door into Summer
The Naked and The Dead
The Stuff of Thought
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
DanDanTheArtMan asks: What’s the best way to do dialog tags?
Resources Mentioned:
Trouble in Paradise, Robert B. Parker
This episode sponsored by BundleRabbit
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Robert asks:
“How can I differentiate my character voices when both characters have similar jobs and backgrounds?”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
