“It’s so hot, I think I’m melting. I haven’t been able to write for three days.” Sally held a blended mocha, sweat glistening on her forehead as she plunked down on the Adirondack chair next to me.
“Really? What, has your brain turned to mush? Are you fingers slipping off the keyboard?”
She stared at me, frowning. “Ouch.”
“If you want to be a writer, Sally, you have to press on. Do you want to be a writer? Or just a wannabe?”
“I think I’m going to take my mocha elsewhere.”
“There’s no crying in writing, bay-bee. I once wrote a book while living in a garage without plumbing, heat or electricity. Believe me, I had reasons not to write. You have to press on, like a mailman, through sleet and snow and dead of night.”
“But—“
“No buts!”
She closed her mouth, considered me for a moment.
I smiled. “I’m just trying to teach you how to put zingers into your dialogue.”
“Zingers?”
“They are my Super Secret Susie tricks to adding spice to your dialogue. Sarcasm, Accusations, Interruptions, Name-calling.”
“I don’t think your zingers are very nice.”
“But they do add drama to a conversation, right. By the way, it’s been too hot for me to write, also. I read a book for the past three days.” I winked at her.
She smiled. “Okay, I get it. Zingers are things I can insert into dialogue to bring it a new direction.”
“Or add spark to it. Polite, boring conversation has no drama. Drama is found in the unexpected, the uncouth, the ugly. Let’s take a standard conversation, something that happens at my house question often.
“Can I get a ride to work today?” my son said as he emerged from his room in uniform.
“I’ll be happy to drive you,” I said, grabbing the keys.
Let’s add some drama to this.
Accusation:
“Can I get a ride to work today?”
“Don’t you think it’s about time you bought your own wheels? What are you doing with all that money you’re earning at Dairy Queen?”
Interruption:
“Can I get a –”
“Oh no, you’re not asking for a ride again, are you?”
Name Calling:
“Can I get a ride to work today?”
“Sure, Your Highness.”
Sarcasm:
“Can I get a ride to work today?”
“Absolutely, son, because I see your legs no longer work.”
See, all these little zingers add spark to your dialogue and have the potential to take the dialogue in a new direction, or add depth. They are a great tool to use if you feel your dialogue is becoming mundane.
Sally took a sip of her drink. Then, “You really know how to pick a fight, don’t you?”
“I have teenagers, what can I say?”
Truth: To create spark in your dialogue, you might to fight dirty, and through in a few zingers.
Dare: Do you have a piece of mundane dialogue? Try adding a zinger to your piece and see how it causes sparks, and perhaps even takes it deeper, to the real meaning behind the dialogue.
Have a great writing week!
Susie May
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