Over Coffee and Cake: A Conversation
So I was having a lot of trouble writing dialogue. That bugged me so bad. It was frustrating because I never could seem to get it right. So I finally decided to try something that did seem to help. I just focused on the dialogue. Not the who said what or how they said it or extra descriptions. Just the words. What this did was it let me just go with the flow; not worry about extraneous things. What this also did was it made me feel more comfortable with dialogue and for anyone who's ever had any sort of conversation to make dialogue work for them. Here's what I came up with.
M: “Have you heard?”
L: “Yes.”
M: “A shame, isn’t it?
L: “Yes, quite a shame.”
M: “You’d think we would have known sooner.”
L: “I know.”
M: “Why didn’t they tell us?”
L: “Well, I suppose they hoped things would have turned out different.”
M: “Yes, I suppose so… But still.”
L: “Well, would you have told anyone?”
M: “I would have told you.”
L: “That’s different.”
M: “Maybe.”
L: “There might me more to it than we know.”
M: “What more could there be?”
L: “Lots.”
M: “Yes, you could be right. Still, it was quite a shock. If they had said something earlier on this whole mess could have been avoided.”
L: “Well, they probably wanted to figure things out on their own.”
M: “There are so many books on the subject. They could have at least looked there. I could have let them borrow some of mine.”
L: “Perhaps they didn’t have the time. It was all on such short notice, you know.”
M: “This is true.”
L: “Or maybe they thought everything was under control. Maybe they didn’t realize it until it was too late; and they couldn’t turn back, now, could they.”
M: “One should always be prepared for these things, especially the inexperienced.”
L: “Ah, but the inexperienced tend not to know that they’re inexperienced. Besides, they’re not the first ones to go through this. You remember. You and I were in their shoes once. (soft chuckle.) Seems so long ago. We did get over it. We did learn from our mistakes.”
M: “Things are different now… Oh, perhaps you’re right.”
L: “Yes. I think so.”
M: “I feel better about this. Do you think I should take them something? You know, to let them know it’s okay?”
L: “I think you should stay right where you are and finish your cake. Would you like some more coffee?”
M: “It would only take a moment to whip something up and take it over to them. It might make them feel better.”
L: “Or it might make them think you feel sorry for them.”
M: “Perhaps your right. We wouldn’t want that.”
L: “What’s say we sit in the sun like a couple of cats when we’re finished… till the mail comes.”
M: “Sounds wonderful… I wonder if we’ll be receiving an invitation to the Smiths. Their dinner parties are always so beautiful.”
L: “They are aren’t they?”
M: “They do have experience.”
L: “That they do. That they do.”
L: “Yes.”
M: “A shame, isn’t it?
L: “Yes, quite a shame.”
M: “You’d think we would have known sooner.”
L: “I know.”
M: “Why didn’t they tell us?”
L: “Well, I suppose they hoped things would have turned out different.”
M: “Yes, I suppose so… But still.”
L: “Well, would you have told anyone?”
M: “I would have told you.”
L: “That’s different.”
M: “Maybe.”
L: “There might me more to it than we know.”
M: “What more could there be?”
L: “Lots.”
M: “Yes, you could be right. Still, it was quite a shock. If they had said something earlier on this whole mess could have been avoided.”
L: “Well, they probably wanted to figure things out on their own.”
M: “There are so many books on the subject. They could have at least looked there. I could have let them borrow some of mine.”
L: “Perhaps they didn’t have the time. It was all on such short notice, you know.”
M: “This is true.”
L: “Or maybe they thought everything was under control. Maybe they didn’t realize it until it was too late; and they couldn’t turn back, now, could they.”
M: “One should always be prepared for these things, especially the inexperienced.”
L: “Ah, but the inexperienced tend not to know that they’re inexperienced. Besides, they’re not the first ones to go through this. You remember. You and I were in their shoes once. (soft chuckle.) Seems so long ago. We did get over it. We did learn from our mistakes.”
M: “Things are different now… Oh, perhaps you’re right.”
L: “Yes. I think so.”
M: “I feel better about this. Do you think I should take them something? You know, to let them know it’s okay?”
L: “I think you should stay right where you are and finish your cake. Would you like some more coffee?”
M: “It would only take a moment to whip something up and take it over to them. It might make them feel better.”
L: “Or it might make them think you feel sorry for them.”
M: “Perhaps your right. We wouldn’t want that.”
L: “What’s say we sit in the sun like a couple of cats when we’re finished… till the mail comes.”
M: “Sounds wonderful… I wonder if we’ll be receiving an invitation to the Smiths. Their dinner parties are always so beautiful.”
L: “They are aren’t they?”
M: “They do have experience.”
L: “That they do. That they do.”
Comments