In this episode, Jeff and Mendi look at the beats of her story and talk about how to create a powerful emotional experience by using dialogue. They how the size of the cast in each scene changes what you should do with the scene, how the number of characters in the scene impact the intimacy with the reader, and where to put exposition in the story.
For more on the craft of writing, check out https://dialoguedoctor.com/
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If you would rather watch Jeff and Mendi talk, check out the episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SJ4_jxyWA88
Hi Mendi, I had such fun listening to how excited you are about your cast of characters. Your story sounds lovely. Thank you for sharing the challenges you face with when and where to inject emotion and exposition throughout the story, as well as how to build a distinct character voice—issues I deal with, too.
Jeff, your detailed explanation of positioning exposition between segments and reminding us of its purpose—how, in addition to giving readers a rest, we can use exposition to ground the reader in where they are, who is with them, and what is happening, while also providing an avenue for reflection through internal voice, all from the vehicle character’s perspective—were great reminders for me. Thank you. It was also helpful that, when explaining exposition, you used examples from Mendi’s story and shared your own style of integrating exposition into the narrative.
Distinct voices are always a challenge. I love that we can come together here and work on it together.