Rules for writing Dialogue

 

1.      Dialogue should stay on topic,

2.      Use dialogue as you would regular speech,

3.      Opt for the speaker said over all others,

4.      Avoid long speeches,

5.     Sound like the character, right down to accent and incorrect grammar

6.      Show what the characters are doing while they’re talking,

7.      Keep characters’ speech consistent.

When breaking the rules makes sense...

            How many rules have you broken and why? Breaking these rules can be helpful and useful or it can be a sign of poor writing. Writer’s Digest magazine warns, however, “Words can be barbs. They can be sabers. They can be jewels. Don’t let them be marshmallows that are passed back and forth.” Dialog is the most useful technique writers have to define and develop characters, move the story, and provide background. Of course, there are exceptions to these rules. Knowing when to use them and when to break them is the difference between ‘writing’ and ‘good writing’.

An editor comes to the rescue...

            You think it sounds just about perfect, your spouse and a few lodge friends love it. But is it ready for submission. An editor could be just what you need to put your manuscript over the top. By editor, I’m talking about a professional editor, not a friend or relative—an unbiased individual who will give you a professional evaluation of your manuscript.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Submission Guidelines*

The Path

The Path to Publication Group publishes the literary publication – The Path.    You are invited to submit short stories, essays, book reviews and poems for inclusion in the semi-annual issues.  

 The theme for Volume 6 No. 1 is ‘Good Vibrations’. For more information, please visit the websites: www.pathtopublication.net and www.thepathmagazine.com . Past contributors will receive a call for submissions by e-mail, automatically.  

1)         Short stories and essays - 2500 to 7000 words

2)           Poetry - 1 page

Please polish your manuscripts to the best of your ability and, of course, have someone else edit your work before sending to Path to Publication.  Do not format your work: no page numbers, no headers or footers, no footnotes, no paragraph indentations (skip a line for paragraph spacing).  Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word or RTF form.  Font: Times New Roman - size 12. All submissions must be submitted electronically, as e-mail attachments, to: mjnickum@thepathmagazine.com .

Deadline for Issue #11 is May 31, 2016

All rights are retained by the author, and there will be no compensation for accepted work at this time*.

*Because we are staffed by volunteers, we can only compensate our writers in exposure to our audience.  Our columnists enjoy great publicity for their own blogs, books, websites, and projects.  Many find great reward in doing something good for the world of literature and literacy. You may also purchase add space to further promote your work.

Query or Synopsis--or Both?

In a query, should the synopsis tell the whole story in a short form or should it leave mystery to the story like on the back of the book?

Queries and synopses are different things. A query should never include a synopsis.

A query is a one-page letter that explains what you’ve written, who you are, and why the agent or publisher should consider your work. A query letter will contain a pitch, which is an explanation of your story in 3-8 sentences. It’s like the text you see on the back of a DVD box. It’s designed to pique your interest. A pitch, like the back of a book or DVD, will not spill the beans regarding the ending.

A synopsis is a front-to-back telling of what happens in your story. It’s like sitting down with a 12-year-old and explaining your entire story in about five minutes. You explain who the characters are, what the conflict is, the three acts and, finally, what happens at the end (e.g., the villain dies). So, in a synopsis, you do indeed give away the ending. You would not do so in a pitch, and a pitch is what appears in a query. A publisher will probably ask for a synopsis IF your query has grabbed their attention.

Remember: First the query then and only then, IF REQUESTED, the synopsis.

Eight rules for writing fiction:

1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted.
2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for.
3. Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.
4. Every sentence must do one of two things -- reveal character or advance the action.
5. Start as close to the end as possible.
6. Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them, so the reader may see what they are made of.
7. Write to please just one person. If you open a window and make love to the world, so to speak, your story will get pneumonia.
8. Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

- Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons 1999), 9-10.

Five Steps to Completing Your First Draft

From: Daily Writing Tips

Follow these stages of preparation and production to assemble a first draft of written (or spoken) content.

1. Identify Your Purpose
What is the reason for writing the content? Are you objectively presenting information? If so, is it for educational purposes, or for entertainment — or both? Are you writing to help someone make a decision, or encouraging someone to take action?

Identifying your goal for the content will help you shape the piece.

2. Identify Your Readership
Who are your intended readers (and your unintended ones)? What is their level of literacy, and what is their degree of prior knowledge of the topic?

Imagining who your readers are will help you decide what voice and tone to adopt, how formal or informal your language will be — though that factor also depends on your approach (see below) — and how much detail or background information you provide.

3. Identify Your Approach
Should your content be authoritative, or is it the work of someone informally communicating with peers? Are you offering friendly advice, or is your tone cautionary? Are you selling something, or are you skeptical? Should the content be serious, or is some levity appropriate?

Determining your strategy, in combination with identifying your readership, will help you decide how the piece will feel to the reader.

4. Identify Your Ideas
Brainstorm before and during the drafting process, and again when you revise. If appropriate, talk or write to intended readers about what they hope to learn from the content. Imagine that you are an expert on the topic, and pretend that you are being interviewed about it. Write down the questions and your answers to help you structure the content. Alternatively, present a mock speech or lecture on the topic and transcribe your talk.

Draft an executive summary or an abstract of the content, or think about how you would describe it to someone in a few sentences. Or draw a diagram or a map of the content.

Using one or more of these strategies will help you populate your content with the information your readers want or need.

5. Identify Your Structure
Craft a title that clearly summarizes the topic in a few words. Explain the main idea in the first paragraph. Organize the content by one of several schemes: chronology or sequence, relative importance, or differing viewpoints. Use section headings or transitional language to signal new subtopics. Integrate sidebars, graphics, and/or links as appropriate.