I wasn’t sure where to put this, but I think Cafe Society is the best bet.
Whenever I write stories I’m always trying to improve, to be better, and I’ve been looking at my work lately and thinking quite a bit.
I can do fine with description, that’s no problem. Ask me to describe a sunset? I’ll go on for three pages. (In fact, I know I need to lay off the purple prose at times…) Plot is no problem.
But when it comes to characterization and dialogue–the most important parts–everything just… lacks. It feels dull and boring, very monotone–like they’re all the same person. I’m horrible at writing humour, so I think that’s a big part of it, and I just can’t get a bead on different personalities and interesting dialogue.
But, it might help if you decide ahead of time on one or two major characteristics of the people involved, then try to parcel out clues to the reader thru their dialogue.
For instance, decide one guy is a selfish bastard, and yet feels as tho he has a higher calling. Then, without stating those things anywhere in your writing, try to get your readers to see those two major character points simply thru what the character says (or how he says it.)
That’s as an exercise only. Be more subtle in the actual story.
I write character studies, and have the opposite problem as you do - fully fleshed out characters with nothing to do, 'cuz I suck at plot. They just have long conversations with one another.
SO… here’s what I do, and if you find it useful, have at it. I write biographies for all these characters. Not major long drawn out things with loads of details, more like lists. Their favorite color, their favorite song, basic family arrangements, weird habits or characteristics (nailbiter, smoker, can raise one eyebrow) and kind of “fit” personality traits into those charcters from people I know. Then, with some “background knowledge” of the characters, I write out their different reactions to the same situation.
Are the characters dull and boring to you? If so, maybe that’s your problem.
Sit down with your characters and think about what makes them tick. For short stories, motivation is everything - what’s the plot twist, and why does the character care about it? Sometimes it helps to write this stuff down - or at least clarify it in your head.
Once you know who your character is, you need to figure out their voice. How they talk, what words they choose, etc. If you’re having trouble with this, try using the voice of someone you know in real life (or a character in a book or movie you know really well.) Then when your character needs to say something, write down what that person or character would say.
Another exercise to improve your dialog is to go sit in a public place and eavesdrop on people. Write down exactly what the couple at the table next to you in the coffee shop are saying, for example. Be careful, though. I’ve found that this helps on the line level - you can often get some GREAT lines - but dialog itself is very different in the written form as opposed to talking. What works in real life rarely works in writing.
Another thing that helped me - try writing dialog between two characters by having each character respond after every sentence of the other. It’s not a hard-and-fast rule, but the back and forth thing helped me figure out dialog pacing.
Heh. Let’s hope I rock the socks off some editor or agent somewhere. If I can’t manage to make some money by writing I may be doomed to a McJob sometime in the future. Not only do my characters have motivation, I have motivation. Lots of it.
I found keeping a brief background of each character nearby helps. The reader may not know that the nurse in the story had a daughter who died, but I know, and that can come through in the writing.
Roger Zelazny said that for novels he would usually start by writing a short story about his characters. I know that doesn’t seem to help, since you are writing short stories, but I guess his point is, he would give his characters a history, a background and that would then allow him to determine how they would act and what they would say in most situations.
I have the opposite problem to you - I am particularly bad at description. I suppose because it bores me.
If you really do go on and on about a sunset (I call that going all Fennimore Cooper,) you’ll lose most of your readers after the third line.
If your characters all sound the same, you might be thinking their words through your own mouth. A sensible, overefficient person doesn’t talk the same as an angry, bitter guy who still talks about how his first wife hurt him 20 years ago. Find some way to listen to people you don’t know, and maybe don’t like. Some people are WYSIWYG, but some are very cagey about hiding what they really mean. Don’t be afraid to make your people pompous, bigoted, or incredibly foolish. The most flawed characters are often the ones readers remember.
WYSIWYG, pronounced wizzy-wig, is an old bit of jargon meaning What You See Is What You Get.
Check out the dialogue in this collaborative work. Though I’m no doubt slightly prejudiced towards it, it shows a good mix of character driven conversation styles.
Join in if you feel like it. A writer’s guide is available.
I, too, wish to go on record that any over long description of an event or object simply means your reader will skip forward. Or stop reading. A fine balance is needed between adequate descriptions and being wordy for verbosity’s sake.
Write, or at least plot out, a full background for your character. Most of this stuff will never show up directly in your stories, but it will make the things you do have your characters do and say be more believeable.
What were their parents like? What kind of house did they grow up in? Who was their best friend in fifth grade? How did they lose their viriginity? What is their favorite outfit?
Try to fill in as many deatails as you can. If you went on a date, what would you guys talk about? The better you know your character, the better you’ll know what they’d say in your story.
Then you need to make unexpected, interesting characters. We’ve all been exposed to so much media that our minds are full of character shorthands. A good writer can get beyond that, even when the hooker with the heart of gold seems so clear and obvious. Think a few character traits that go against your character’s main traits. Perhaps your nervous twitchy man is an excellent checkers player. Maybe your punk kid likes to hand out candy. Maybe the loving teacher has a dartboard with her class picture on it in her rec room.
And remember, it’s not just motivation. It’s desire. Everyone has a secret wish, and that is what stories are made of. What is your character’s secret wish?
I’ve always been very interested in psychology and this helps me create characters.
Read Infopsychology by Timothy Leary or Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson. The psychological model they expalin in those books has been the basis of my characterizations for years.
And remember, all people have three motivations, their stated motivations, their actual motivations and their subconscious motivations (these may be the same, they may be different). Whenever your character does something think to yourself what are all three of these motivations.
If you’re living around Toronto, I am sure that there are some adult writing classes available where a professional instructor can help you. Such classes are usually small (my wife is in a writing class with four people) so the instructor can spend lots of one-on-one time dealing with your particular strengths and weaknesses. And they’re usually pretty good values in terms of cost.
Though I write, I can’t really help. I just start the characters talking and they show what they’re like. The only key is to pay attention to what they’re saying and how they’re saying it, and don’t be afraid to have the conversation lead to where it wants, and not necessarily where you want.
If you’re writing SF/Fantasy/Horror, I strongly suggest you join the Critters online workshop. It’s free, and a very good way to get critiques.
Oh, and don’t quit your day job until you have a couple of novels out. Short stories won’t pay your bills.
I’ll try these for the characters I currently have in mind…