A few weeks ago I decided to give myself the challenge of writing a new piece of flash fiction to get back into the habit of writing after quite a significant break from writing. The task was both relatively easy and quite enjoyable. However now it’s about time that I tackle a far greater foe, a rewrite – or more specifically the rewrite of my screenplay. That is to say the forth…or fifth?…or somethingth rewrite of my screenplay.
I’ve left it lying somewhere in the murky recesses of my mind and hard drive but now it seems overdue to resurrect it. It is the first (roughly) finished long piece I’ve done. It’s also the first piece, which I have commercial hopes for. Therefore, the time to turn it into something marketable has come.
But the dialogue is sloppy in places, forced in others and overbearing in others. This, I’ve been told, is the main obstacle in finishing the screenplay and producing a presentable draft.
In theory this should be easy. I’ve created my monster, built her body, jump-started her heart & got her limbs moving (in co-ordination). She can even speak – but her voice must be tweaked. So what’s the problem?
I live in a country where I don’t speak the language. This is useful when flexing my writing muscles and inventing stranger’s conversations over a cafe leche leche. But when faced with producing realistic dialogue, it doesn’t lend itself to this scenario. True, I communicate in English everyday, yet my opportunities to observe are limited.
Though I must admit that it is likely I am merely being facetious. Dialogue is always around me. I just need to try harder to find it. I know the characters; I know how they speak, or at least how they should speak. Perhaps therein lies the issue. I know how they should speak but is that how they currently speak? I have my doubts.
So all that’s left is to get my characters speaking how they should speak. Easy, right?
I guess this week shall tell…
Scribblings and Broken Glass 