Turn Off That Music And Let's Talk

Have you ever had a moment when you are listening to someone talk, or rather should be listening, and yet all you hear is sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher, Wah Wahwah Wah Wah!  I know people often tell me I am such a good listener, and I may regret letting this secret out, but often my open eyed gaze at you could not repeat back what you said because I was actually listening to the music in my head. 

One of the issues with writing a book is getting your idea across but also getting your discussions to appear real and interesting and yet also something that this character you have created would actually say.  I once read a book, and I will not list the title or author out of respect, where I had real issues with the characters and their voice.  The characters were in an impoverished position in life.  They lived amongst the lower class of society. They were poor and uneducated and a bit crass at times.  Yet, when they spoke within in the novel and had any type of discourse their language was almost what you would find a university professor to use.  They used large, difficult, not found in common language words.  For some reason this really infuriated me.  To me that is an author trying to show off just how smart he really is by giving his characters words that the reader, no matter how intelligent, would have to look up.  Reading with a dictionary type of writing is good for textbooks but not pleasure reading and not when your use of the language in their discussions does not match up with the characters you have created in the readers imagination.  The only props I will give this author is that the idea and theme of his book was enough to make you want to buy the book and read it to find out how it played out.  The rest is my opinion of course but I think then he lost the reader with his need to be more important than his writing.

Writing in discussions can be interesting but there is a fine line a writer needs to walk.  The writer has created characters that, if done properly, need to seem real and relatable.  That means that when the reader comes to scenes with discussions and "talk"  there are three things that need to be considered. 

1. Is this something that character based on their personality would actually say?,
2. Does this discussion make sense to the story and the plot and move the action forward?  Does this discussion even make sense?, and
3. How to change the style of discussions based on different characters, environments and actions?

I wrote a scene with one of my main characters and a "bad guy".  I had to make sure that discussion did not come across too cliche and corny but also make it understood that this character was manipulative and violent.  I am also coming up to the part of my novel where time periods will change and that needs to be considered when my past characters interact with the modern characters.  It will also be set in another country and that needs to be considered as well.  American slang just won't work coming from an 1800's Romanian Duke.  Although the thought of it makes me laugh. 

The trick is getting all these words to line up into a discussion that makes sense and is relatable.  That is no different than what everyone does everyday when they are telling a story.  When I tell the story about how my Mother wore two different colored and types of shoes to church one day or how my Dad decided to wash clothes in the dryer, I have to make sure the person hearing the story understands.  The laughter or response at the end of any discussion assures me that they turned off the radio in their head long enough to not only be amused by my story but because they showed how delighted they were they showed they understood my telling.  

When you meet a co-worker at the water-cooler to tell them how your son wore his clothes inside out and backwards you hope for a laugh.  If you did not get one it may be because you said, "My eldest offspring decided to garnish himself with vestments that were inverted and astern of him."  Even I don't think that is funny because it is not real and relatable.  Now, if I were having the same discussion with an Ivy League grammar professor then he may find that funny.  Again, it is also based on your audience and not just the words.  You change the way you speak based on the person or people in front of you.  I have given many speeches to varying audiences and that is important.  Now that I am writing this novel, I consider the readers as an audience to a speech and that they all attended for different reasons and are of different backgrounds.  I need to try to relate to each one of them.

So I have had to learn to turn the radio off in my own head and listen when people speak.  Everyone has their own nuance and mannerism.  It is fascinating and often at the end it leads to an open discussion.  So if this finds you interested....let's talk about it.