Busy Writer's Guides Series by Marcy Kennedy

How do you properly format dialogue? How can you write dialogue unique to each of your characters? Is it okay to start a chapter with dialogue? Writers all agree that great dialogue helps make great fiction, but it's not as easy to write as it looks... moreHow do you properly format dialogue? How can you write dialogue unique to each of your characters? Is it okay to start a chapter with dialogue? Writers all agree that great dialogue helps make great fiction, but it's not as easy to write as it looks. In "How to Write Dialogue: A Busy Writer's Guide" you'll learn - how to format your dialogue, - how to add variety to your dialogue so it's not always "on the nose," - when you should use dialogue and when you shouldn't, - how to convey information through dialogue without falling prey to As-You-Know-Bob Syndrome, - how to write dialogue unique to each of your characters, - how to add tension to your dialogue, - whether it's ever okay to start a chapter with dialogue, - ways to handle contractions (or the lack thereof) in science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction, - tricks for handling dialect, - and much more! Each book in the Busy Writer's Guides series is intended to give you enough theory so that you can understand why things work and why they don't, but also enough examples to see how that theory looks in practice. In addition, they provide tips and exercises to help you take it to the pages of your own story with an editor's-eye view. less

You’ve heard the advice “show, don’t tell” until you can’t stand to hear it anymore. Yet fiction writers of all levels still seem to struggle with it. There are three reasons for this. The first is that this isn’t an absolute rule. Telling isn’t always wrong. The second is that we lack a clear way of understanding the difference between showing and telling... moreYou’ve heard the advice “show, don’t tell” until you can’t stand to hear it anymore. Yet fiction writers of all levels still seem to struggle with it. There are three reasons for this. The first is that this isn’t an absolute rule. Telling isn’t always wrong. The second is that we lack a clear way of understanding the difference between showing and telling. The third is that we’re told "show, don’t tell," but we’re often left without practical ways to know how and when to do that, and how and when not to. So that’s what this book is about. Chapter One defines showing and telling and explains why showing is normally better. Chapter Two gives you eight practical ways to find telling that needs to be changed to showing and guides you in understanding how to make those changes. Chapter Three explains how telling can function as a useful first draft tool. Chapter Four goes in-depth on the seven situations when telling might be the better choice than showing. Chapter Five provides you with practical editing tips to help you take what you've learned to the pages of your current novel or short story. Showing and Telling in Fiction also includes three appendices covering how to use The Emotion Thesaurus, dissecting an example so you can see the concepts of showing vs. telling in action, and explaining the closely related topic of As-You-Know-Bob Syndrome. Each book in the Busy Writer’s Guides series is intended to give you enough theory so that you can understand why things work and why they don’t, but also enough examples to see how that theory looks in practice. In addition, they provide tips and exercises to help you take it to the pages of your own story with an editor's-eye view. Most importantly, they cut the fluff so you have more time to write and to live your life. less

Internal dialogue is the voice inside our heads that we can’t ignore, even when we want to. We second-guess ourselves, pass judgment on the world around us, and are at our most emotionally vulnerable. And the same needs to be true for our characters.Internal dialogue is one of the most powerful tools in a fiction writer’s arsenal. It’s an advantage we have over TV and movie script writers and playwrights... moreInternal dialogue is the voice inside our heads that we can’t ignore, even when we want to. We second-guess ourselves, pass judgment on the world around us, and are at our most emotionally vulnerable. And the same needs to be true for our characters.Internal dialogue is one of the most powerful tools in a fiction writer’s arsenal. It’s an advantage we have over TV and movie script writers and playwrights. It’s also one of the least understood and most often mismanaged elements of the writing craft.In Internal Dialogue: A Busy Writer’s Guide, you’ll learn…- the difference between internal dialogue and narration,- best practices for formatting internal dialogue,- ways to use internal dialogue to advance your story,- how to balance internal dialogue with external action,- clues to help you decide whether you’re overusing or underusing internal dialogue,- tips for dealing with questions in your internal dialogue,- and much more!Each book in the Busy Writer’s Guide series is intended to give you enough theory so that you can understand why things work and why they don’t, but also enough examples to see how that theory looks in practice. In addition, they provide tips and exercises to help you take it to the pages of your own story, with an editor’s-eye view. Most importantly, they cut the fluff so that you have more time to write and to live your life. less