Talking The Talk

I have been told that I am accomplished at writing dialogue. I appreciate that and think I am good at it. As my Daddy often said, “It’s a damn poor dog that won’t wag his own tail” so I’ll go ahead and own that.

Now, how did that ‘skill’ come to be?

This may all sound simple but when put together, it is an extensive exercise.And when you can get it to effectively work, it is the glue that binds your story together. 

Obviously, all of this entails to work of listening and absorbing. That is the overarching tool to success. Get your antennae up and active. Be aware. This is not a passive exercise. And the more you do it, the more you will sponge up that will be useful.

So, do not kill your TV! Watch and LISTEN to your television, your Netflix (I’m not sure any of us are going out to the movies any time soon these days) and listen to your music and your radio. Go to the theatre.

Listen to your life and the people around you, especially, those who are strangers to you. You never know when a word or phrase will jump out at you, stick with you with the sound of it, the construction of the words. Also, be mindful of the circumstances, the physical places that words are spoken. What is their setting? It helps the words fit.

It goes without saying: Read! Read good books and good writing. Ask yourself, why does that particular sentence or phrase or word resonate with me? Read and listen to the great speeches. Hear them. The rumbling, defiant might of Churchill, the simple dignity of Lincoln, the good natured strength of Reagan-and so many more-will help full up your basket of good dialogue.

Practice telling stories. Maybe your not so good at that. But you can be. But as in all things, it takes time and work. Work on timing, pauses, alliterations, putting the pieces in the order that is satisfying to you.

Learn to tell jokes. Imitate people. Works on your facial expressions when you do…it will amplify your words.

Write things down. I keep pads and pens all over my physical life. They are a visual prompt that will help build your active awareness.

It is not necessarily good to be conventional in all your constructs. Most of life is not spoken in complete sentences. These days show us more and more verbal shorthand.

Lastly (for now), be aware of and take in Dialect. I will leave you with four examples.

1) My late mother-in law Phoebe Elliott was a sweet lady whose baby sister often drove her nuts. One day she went to visit her and the initial cranky exchanges between the two greatly abbreviated their visit.

When asked what happened, G’mom Phoebe replied, “She was as sour as an unripe persimmon. I was so put out I did not even put my pocketbook down!” The words paint the picture.

2) The great comedian Richard Pryor in his ground breaking album, ‘That N****r Is Crazy’ was a genius with word selection. In one cut, he discusses the word ‘tardy’. He concludes, “Tardy is no word that black folk use. That’s pure Whitey!” The right word counts. P.S. Listen to the entire album; it is indeed pure genius! Also, don’t forget Redd Foxx, Moms Mabley, Bill Cosby, Steve Allen, Will Rogers, Robert Stein…and so many more!

3) I know a real lady, a dowager, a doyenne who had a great sense of humor (pay attention to those kind of people!). One day a bunch of us were visiting with her and she was holding forth and holding court on a broad range of subjects while her aged miniature poodle sat on her lap. There was a pause in her monologue and suddenly there was a ‘pssst!’ and a rising sulfurous stench in the air. The Queen Bee never faltered. “The dog has farted.”

We all knew who had really farted an laughed our brains out but the dialogue deflection was perfect!

4) The late Robert Cogsland was our chaplain in boarding school. A virtual bear of a man, he was a great priest and also was renown in New England as the comic voice behind the Down East Maine-centic comedy series ‘Bert and I’.

One of his classics was the city slicker in his sports car lost in the Maine countryside who in a panic asks the Maine farmer on the side of the road how to get back to the big city. The languid reply was, “You can’t get theah from heah.” The beauty of brevity.

So, get out there and work on your dialogue. And remember, don’t just listen. Hear!!

Good Hunting!!