1. James Geary

2. Imagine that you are watching a play. Its themiddle of the first act and you are getting to knowthe characters and their problems. Suddenly, theplaywright runs out on stage and yells, Do yousee whats happening? Do you see how hercoldness is behind his infidelity? Have you noticedhis lack of self-confidence? Do you get it? 3. Of course, you get it. And so do YOUR readers. Unnecessary supports around your dialogue willmake the strongest dialogue LOOK weak. Dont explain your dialogue to your readers. 4. You cant be serious, she said in astonishment. I find that difficult to accept, she said inastonishment. She dropped the cup, splattering coffee all overthe floor. You cant be serious. Youve got to be kidding. You pulling my chain, dude? 5. Percy burst into the zookeepers office. Theircallous mistreatment was killing the wombats andhe wasnt going to stand for it. Is something wrong, sir? the zookeeper said. Dont you realize that youre killing those poorinnocent creatures, your heartless fascist? Percyyelled. 6. Im afraid its not going very well, he said grimly. Keep scrubbing until youre finished, she saidharshly. I dont know. I cant seem to work up the steamto do anything at all, he said listlessly. 7. To tighten his own writing, Gabriel Garcia Marquezhas eliminated adverbs, which in Spanish all havethe ending mente (-ly in English). A quote from aninterview with Marquez:Before Chronicle of a Death Foretold, there aremany. In Chronicle, there is one. After that, in Love,there are none. In Spanish, the adverb mente is avery easy solution. But when you want to use mente and look for another form, the other formalways works better. 8. Give it to me, she demanded. Here it is, he offered. Is it loaded? she inquired. 9. I hate to admit it, he grimaced. Come closer, she smiled. So, youve changed your mind, he chuckled. 10. I just dont believe youd say that, Chet. Well, Hortense, I may have heard wrong, but Cut it out, Chet. Just cut it out. 11. Id never thought of that before. Roger walkedover to the fridge and helped himself to a soda.But I suppose a good coat of paint really wouldwork just as well, wouldnt it? 12. You arent seriously thinking about putting that trash in yourbody, are you? said a voice from behind me, archly. I put down a package of Twinkies and turned around. It was FredMcDermot, a passing acquaintance from work. Pardon me? Isaid. I said, you arent going to put that stuff in your body, are you?he repeated. Fred, I fail to see how its any of your business, I chuckled. Paul, Im just interested in your welfare, thats all, he replied.Do you know what they put in those things? No, Fred. Neither do I, Paul. Thats the point. 13. You arent seriously thinking about putting that trashin your body, are you? I put down a package of Twinkies and turned around.It was Fred McDermot, a passing acquaintance fromwork. Pardon me? I said. You heard me. I chuckled. Fred, I cant for the life of me see why thisis any of your business. Im just thinking of you, thats all, he said. Do youknow what they put in those things? No. Neither do. Thats the point. 14. From Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry: Want some buttermilk? July asked, going to thecrock. No, sir. Joe said. He hated buttermilk, but Julyloved it so he always asked anyway. You ask him that every night, Elmira said fromthe edge of the loft. It irritated her that July camehome and did exactly the same things day afterday. 15. I never thought Id see the day when I wasthankful for the oak. I certainly wasnt thankful this last autumn when Istood with my rake in the middle of the scragglypatches of grass that pass for the front yard andcursed the leaves that, I swear, multiply on theirway to the ground. And come autumn, Illprobably stand and curse the tree again. But for now, when it seems the dog days of thesummer have come to stay forever, the tree is apositive comfort. 16. In small South Carolina towns, most houses arebuilt in the shadow of tall trees. Each autumn, thechildren charged with yard care curse the leavesthat seem to multiply on their way to the ground.But in mid-afternoon during the dog days ofAugust, when the blazing sun takes possession ofthe streets and bakes anyone who dares tochallenge it, entire families find solace in theshade of those same trees. 17. Coral Blake mopped the sweat out of her eyes andlooked up at the dusty underside of the oak. Thedog days of August had come to stay, it seemed,and like most of the rest of Greeleyville, SouthCarolina, she sought refuge from the sun on herfront porch under the oak. Her children hated that tree. Every fall shed chasethem out to the scraggly front yard with a rake,and every fall shed watch them curse the leavesthat seemed to multiply as they fell. But now, withher head leaning back against the cool trunk, thetree seemed like a blessing. 18. 1.It was winter of the year 1853. A large manstepped out of a doorway. 2.Henry J. Warburton had never much cared forsnowstorms. 3.Henry hated snowstorms. 4.God how he hated these damn snowstorms. 5.Snow. Under your collar, down inside yourshoes, freezing and plugging up your miserablesoul. 19. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell: Scarlett OHara was not beautiful, but menseldom realized it when caught by her charm asthe Tarleton twins were. In her face were toosharply blended the delicate features of hermother, a Coast aristocrat of French descent, andthe heavy ones of her florid Irish father. But it wasan arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw.Her eyes were pale green without a touch ofhazel, starred with bristly black lashes and slightlytilted at the ends 20. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison: Solid, rumbling, likely to erupt without notice,Macon kept each member of his family awkwardwith fear. His hatred of his wife glittered andsparkled in every word he spoke to her. Thedisappointment he felt in his daughters sifteddown on them like ash, dulling their butterycomplexions and choking the lilt out of whatshould have been girlish voices. Under the frozenheat of his glance they tripped over door sills anddropped the salt cellar into the yolks of theirpoached eggs. 21. Fridays Child by Georgette Heyer: The Viscount looked her over. She was a veryyoung lady, and she did not at this momentappear to advantage. The round gown she worewas of an unbecoming shade of pink, and hadpalpably come to her at secondhand, since itseemed to have been made originally for a largerlady. In her hand she held a crumpled and damphandkerchief. There were tear stains on hercheeks, and her wide grey eyes were reddenedand a little blurred. 22. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery OConnor: (the wife of a diner owner, Red Sammy, speaks first) It isnt a soul in this green world of Gods that you cantrust, she said. And I dont count nobody out of that, notnobody, she repeated, looking at Red Sammy. Did you hear about that criminal, The Misfit, thatsescaped? asked the grandmother. I wouldnt be a bit surprised if he didnt attract this placeright here, said the woman. If he hears about it beinghere, I wouldnt be none surprised to see him. If he hearsits two cent in the cash register, I wouldnt be a tallsurprised if he Thatll do, Red Sam said. 23. Naming your story Titles Finding the perfect title 24. TRUTH IN FICTION OVERUSED WORDS DIALOGUE AND CHARACTERS SHORT STORY