Behind the scene: How to talk? (Patreon)

I recently looked at new stories posted on Gromet's plaza and realized how different my writing style is.

First, because English is not my primary language, my text is usually more straightforward to read. There are not too many complicated sentences either.

Then I don't use many contractions, and I do it on purpose. I find that it helps me read the text more leisurely, and I suspect it's the same for many foreign patrons. English is difficult for me because it's one of the languages that is not spoken like it's written. So breaking down the words just help quite a bit. I'm sure it annoys some of my English readers, though. ;)

But the biggest thing, I think, is the way I construct my dialogue. I refuse to use the words "I said" after a sentence because I think it looks awful and is not necessary. I don't understand when people say, "you can use, "I said," everywhere... it's an invisible word." ... To me, it just hurts my eyes and makes me nauseous.

Here is an example:

"Hi!" Vix said.

"Hello!" Asha replied happily.

Instead, I will use.

"Hi Asha."

"Aaah! Viiix! Hi!"

Both achieve the same goal, but instead of describing the emotions, I display them how a cartoon would. Vix with three "i" is unacceptable, it's not a word or a name, but it shows that Asha is emotional when she says it.

Also, I generally don't specify who is talking. Instead, I rely on the reader's intelligence.

"Nam, can you help me for a second?"

"Okay."

"Come here."

"Yes. What do you need, Evelyn? Aaaah! Why are you grabbing my boobs?"

"Mmm... Because I like them."

So, I don't always specify who is talking in this example, but you know, because you are smart. Every so often, I will make the character state names, so it helps you keep track of who says what. It's advantageous during more extended dialogues.

Here is another example with four different characters in the same dialogue.

"Meow! Make me a cheese-sandwich!"

"Master Mark. Kitty is getting fat. We should cease feeding her cheese."

"It's okay, Syr. Don't worry about it. When she doesn't fit in her catsuit anymore, she will start relaxing on the cheese."

"MARK! I'll gut you like a fish!"

"What? What did I do?"

"You finished my favorite whiskey!"

"There was almost none left, Erika. We will just buy more."

"Meow! Whiskey is gross! You drink too much anyway!"

"Shut up, Cathead. I'm talking to Mark."

"Only him can call me cathead! You must not!"

In this example, I tried to mix-match different topics with different characters. It's a bit extreme, but it was to show what I meant. If you know you Feliformia characters well, and because I gave them strong and unique personality, you always know who is talking. I don't need to specify it. I gave them different voices, so we know who they are. Kitty is saying "meow" and is demanding and annoying. Mark is often the victim, Syr always speaks properly and calls Mark Master, Erika is aggressive and direct.

So this is how I like to guide my readers through dialogues. I'm not saying it's always perfect and that the reader is never getting lost, but I think it is much cleaner doing it this way rather than using "I said, she said, he said + emotion or action" ... I hate that mechanical way of writing and I just can't get myself to use it.

I hope you found this little post interesting. I meant to write a few words about this for a while. :)

TS