How do you make your characters talk to you?
I must confess that I find it really difficult to write dialogues. This is what I realize again and again when working on the script for "Frogs", which naturally consists of a lot of verbal speech. It's complicated to find the right tone. Everything is a balancing act. You would like to be original and literarily valuable on the one hand, and realistic on the other hand, and in no way sound stereotyped. You want to push the story forward without writing the plot to the character's nose or sometimes you just want to lure the reader on the wrong track. Too often, I get caught up in trying to meet the expectations of potential readers. I try to force my words to the character, hoping that they are the ones the audience wants to hear.
How do I give the character his own feelings and his own voice?
Of course, this is easier if you can orient yourself to a real template that you know and can ask. However, even in most cases he or she will not tell you honestly everything you want to know and I do not really want to meet some of my characters in a "Froschperspektive". Everyone develops their own technique, how to make dialogues better and how to make characters speak to you in the right words. If I had to summarize my approach, I would say:
"Act your story! Never design feelings!“
What does that mean? "Act your story" should not mean that you pretend to be something. The famous acting teacher Sanford Meisner once defined acting as:
"The ability to live truthfully under given imaginary circumstances.“
"Live truthfully" are the two crucial words. So it's not about thinking of something or pretending something that you really are not. It is about truthfully following the first impulse to get involved in the situation.
But what does that mean for the author? How can he use the Meisner technique for himself?
First of all a simple example. My main character in "Froschperspektive" sits in a scene in the middle of the night at the Westbahnhof in Vienna and does not know where to go. Now I could have sat down at the desk, made myself a hot cup of tea, turned on the heating and thought up the scene. I've been to Westbahnhof so often that the result would have been certainly acceptable, at least for someone who has never been to Vienna. I would then have added the attributes like "cold" and "dark", but that's not enough to bring in authenticity. It remains then just a cold train station at night and it is not a real scene at the Westbahnhof. An acceptable result cannot be enough for us.
"Don’t fake it, when you can make it.“
So what are the arguments against sitting down with a notebook at the Westbahnhof at night? It is just one example that can be transferred to all places. It is clear to me that not everyone wants to write about the Vienna Westbahnhof and if not everyone cannot sit there at night. But every station would have been better for this scene than my comfortable office chair at the desk. Because only outside you have the opportunity to meet real people, smells or other impressions, which are presented on the silver platter, if you go only there with a little openness.
The principle is clear. But what if we add real people to our setup?
"Never design feelings!“
When it was clear to me that I wanted to finish "Froschperspektive", I tried to create situations I wanted to write about as realistic as possible. And what experiences are more realistic than your own? Apart from that, you have no other anyway.
"It has never been my strength to learn from the mistakes of others." – Froschperspektive
That's why I tried to artificially create real situations. This led to for a such an extent that I exploited every negative mood, especially for my writing. For example, when I got annoyed at work because of minor things, I blustered into it on the way home and took it out on my fellow human beings at home. I was able to write quite authentic scenes just by working on the scene in the plot that suited my mood. It's definitely an exciting experience, but I do not need to explain the consequences. But the most important insight from this time was that you can not design emotions. You cannot consider what you or your audience expect, how the character might feel in the situation. I think it's more important to surprise the reader "truthfully" than to fulfill his expectations so that the story does not get boring.
Meisner technique for authors
But how can you create authentic situations without ruining your private and professional life?
Last year I was fortunate enough to be able to attend some Meisner acting classes with New York-based Steven Ditmyer, who himself trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Sanford Meisner. Not only is Steven a really cool guy, he's also a fantastic acting teacher. I would not go far enough to call myself an actor, but it was also something else that I took with me from the classes and that has helped me write since then.
Steven showed us a simple exercise that helped me make an emotional breakthrough and gave me access to every area of my emotional world I've missed so far.
Just find a person who is close to you, who means something to you. Now consider circumstances that are closest to your scene you want to write. Imagine how you fulfill this person's dream of their life or how you might communicate your last words at the open coffin. Everything in between and beyond is possible and now talk to that person in those circumstances. Talk! Imagine this person standing in front of you and you can tell her everything and pour out your heart. Speak it out loud, talk to her/him. Tell about your joy, your grief, your suffering. When you have overcome the inhibition threshold, the feelings and the words come on their own. Let them do the rest, do not write it down immediately. Let it be with all your senses and you will notice how the scene comes to you all alone.
That may sound embarrassing. But it is not, as long as you do not do it on the bus. It's no less odd than inventing stories with fictional characters and writing them down to be read by other people. If we are „truthful" with each other, then everyone talks to themselves every now and then. This exercise also has other benefits. You can create realistic situations without burdening yourself and your environment. In addition, it is easy to get out of such situations again. Especially when it comes to stressful situations, it is good to know that you could call the person directly to convince yourself that it was just an exercise, even it felt real.
As a result, scenes will feel more authentic because they have been experienced in some way. So you have the chance to bring a large part of your personality into the story. So you not only fill pages. You find the right emotions that are worth much more than imposing empty phrases on the character.
Going to an acting class sounds great. I know that some of my writer friends have participated in acting classes and became more confident in their writing ability as a result, if not a better actor. But you are absolutely right, using your own personal condition is a realistic way of managing dialogue. I've actually done that a few times myself. It's good to be reminded though, it's these little things that can make all the difference. Thank you!
Hello @mariekoh. Thanks for your nice comment. Yes, you can actually read and feel the difference. I have old sections where I just described the situation. After I reworked and felt it, the text became shorter, much more alive and less descriptive. So keep on feeling and writing. =)
And maybe you should watch this video by Brené Brown. It is not an acting class but definitely a path to your feelings.
Wow, thanks, that was interesting and different. I've never looked at vulnerability from that perspective before. I like it, look forward to your next post.
I love your post : D
It is an excellent information.
Greetings from Venezuela