Improving your Dialogue

There are rules or specifications that need to be followed when you write a story. Instead of discussing all of them I will list a couple.

Improving your Dialogue 

1. Read it Aloud.
2. Long Passages
3. Distinctive Dialogue
4. Each character has a voice
5. Get into the character.
6. exc..

Why are these important, one might ask, well I tell you why. Read anything out aloud will always increase your chances of getting the story right and to gain others perspective on your storytelling. Long passages are not always good, but necessary, sometimes the story needs them to explain what is going on in the story. Imagine the matrix without them... Distinctive dialogue also distinguishes characters from each other, no one wants the same protagonist in every story and antagonist, it just is boring. Also try to imagine the character as oneself, doing this will make you think more creatively and also limit the craziness of how much a character can contain. 

Jake H.

2-24-12

Starting Dialogue

Today in class we discussed why dialogue is important to be included in a story. We went over basics on how dialogue can explain what the character might be or what kind of character it can be. I think this true because I have seen many movies or commercials or even radio ads that just based on dialogue I can understand what the person who is speaking might be trying to convey and what kind of personality they are trying to portray as well. To test this in class we watch clips of movies such as full metal jacket to understand how dialogue so crude that was shown can even have messages as well.

Jake H.

2-22-12

Your kind of boring in real life...

In class we further discussed on what characters need to be believable and to produce a good story. First thing is to make sure your character is not a characterization because then it will end up producing a cliche person. Next to make them real and believable and if it basing of a actual kind of job like for example being a cop, make sure to get your lingo right. However I think real life is boring at most times, so it okay to add things that might not happen in real life to entertain the viewers.  If you have cop giving nobody tickets because  he wants to be that one guy who is nice, nobody will believe that crap. However if a cop never tries to save anyone or shoot his gun, the viewer is most likely give up on they are watching. So as my professor said, get your facts check. We also discussed Joe Campbell- Hero's Journey.

1. Call to adventure
1. Accept or Decline
2. Road of trials
1. Successes or Failures
3. Achieve goals
1. Self Knowledge
4. Return to the real world
5. Application

This is kind a guide for a hero and usually followed in most stories because it sets up a good structure. 

Another thing is to also make your Antagonist worthy, if not the story will end making the viewers disappointed. For example if you let your character endure this whole journey to get to the Antagonist and he is easily overcome, who wants to see that. 

Interior vs Exterior

When you think of characters who have played in movies, are they actually characters or just characterizations? For example take a character like Jet Li, in most of his movies, I think hes playing a characterization of you to survive knowing martial arts such as other cliches in martial arts movies. In class we discussed that characters will express if they are active or passive, antagonist vs protagonist, the interior. Characterization are just cliches of what characters truly are. So the next time you go to watch a movie, see if you can tell the difference between characters and characterizations.

Passively Active!

I have never thought if I was a active or passive person. At times I just wanted everybody to leave me alone and I just want to do my own thing, or at other moments I want to be included in everything and just to make my contribution noticeable. In class we discussed Maslow pyramid which made a lot of sense. Sometimes I feel like I am stuck at safety and never want to go beyond, I don't know if I never can not to get to that next level or if I just don't have the motivation to do so. However not at all times do I feel like that, I think I am more worried about others than I am myself which makes me feel like my Maslow pyramid is upside down at times. I want to help others rather than myself which has led to many complications in my life and consequently had me lose some of my time and own body needs. However there is nothing better than the satisfaction of helping others or just even encouraging.