Writing Exercise 16: A Tricky Conversation
This is an exercise in writing dialogue, and also in thinking about the way someone may say one thing while meaning or thinking about something else.
Stage 1.
Invent a character. Start by thinking about something they really want. Then place your character in an everyday setting (e.g. a kitchen) and consider which five things there are likely to interest them most. Why would these be of interest? Write this down.
Now think of something that the character tries to keep secret. It need not be anything particularly important. This secret affects the way the character performs an everyday activity. Describe the character performing that activity.
Stage 2.
Imagine the character leaving a message on a friend’s ansaphone. The character is just leaving an ordinary message but, at the back of their mind, can’t help thinking about the thing they want and the secret they are keeping. Without revealing either, what do they say? Write it down in the character’s voice.
Stage 3.
Your character’s phone rings. The caller isn’t someone they wanted to speak to just then. The caller either has news to share or wants information. Why is the caller phoning? How well (if at all) does the caller know the character? There is something the caller would rather be doing or a place where they would rather be. Write down what the caller is really thinking about as the phone rings. Try to write it in the caller’s own voice.
Stage 4.
Bring the caller and character together in the conversation that follows. Try to make each voice distinct. See whether you can drop small hints to what each wants and the secret the first character is keeping.
You may want to edit this a lot as it’s hard to keep the voices distinct. Could someone tell from a single line which of the two characters is speaking?
You may want to develop this conversation into a scene from a script, use it as part of a story or let it become all or part of a poem.
Stage 1.
Invent a character. Start by thinking about something they really want. Then place your character in an everyday setting (e.g. a kitchen) and consider which five things there are likely to interest them most. Why would these be of interest? Write this down.
Now think of something that the character tries to keep secret. It need not be anything particularly important. This secret affects the way the character performs an everyday activity. Describe the character performing that activity.
Stage 2.
Imagine the character leaving a message on a friend’s ansaphone. The character is just leaving an ordinary message but, at the back of their mind, can’t help thinking about the thing they want and the secret they are keeping. Without revealing either, what do they say? Write it down in the character’s voice.
Stage 3.
Your character’s phone rings. The caller isn’t someone they wanted to speak to just then. The caller either has news to share or wants information. Why is the caller phoning? How well (if at all) does the caller know the character? There is something the caller would rather be doing or a place where they would rather be. Write down what the caller is really thinking about as the phone rings. Try to write it in the caller’s own voice.
Stage 4.
Bring the caller and character together in the conversation that follows. Try to make each voice distinct. See whether you can drop small hints to what each wants and the secret the first character is keeping.
You may want to edit this a lot as it’s hard to keep the voices distinct. Could someone tell from a single line which of the two characters is speaking?
You may want to develop this conversation into a scene from a script, use it as part of a story or let it become all or part of a poem.
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