Sarah Andrews, author

Talk to me about your favorite characters. If I’m compiling a list of the best characters written in the past decade, who has to be on it? #WritingCommunity #HistoricalFiction #WomensFiction #amwriting #bookswritteninthiscenturyplease

What are you reading, #WritingCommunity? I just got a copy of Chanel Cleeton’s Our Last Days in Barcelona and I can’t wait to dive in!

Finally reading ‘Save the Cat! Writes a Novel’ (by @jessicabrody) after hearing about it for ages. What are your favorite books on writing, #WritingCommunity?

@eileencdk Thanks, that’s encouraging!

Feeling discouraged … I got good but TOUGH feedback on my manuscript and it will take a lot of work to make the suggested changes. I could use a little boost, #WritingCommunity! Tell me about a time you slogged through and came out the other side.

Getting feedback from 2 agents today thanks to @BytetheBook Agents Tables. 👏👏 I’m curious to hear about the ways you’ve found to get agents’ feedback, #WritingCommunity! I’ve loved being part of the @MSWLMA community joining workshops there. Other ideas? #amquerying

I learned so much from Stein on Writing’ — he recommends writers give their characters different ‘scripts’ (ie: internal beliefs or mis beliefs) so in their dialogue each is going after his or her own idea instead of bouncing conversation back and forth like a tennis ball. 👆💯

@FrankPOliver 😂😂😂

@SarahA_writes When I typed "they're" I meant the MCs, not the readers. A few years ago I changed the name of my first MC and she wouldn't talk to me (so to speak) for a month. She wouldn't even open her bedroom door except to give me her sheets to be washed, "Tell Dad no starch." Know your MC.

#WritingCommunity, send me your best advice for writing dialogue please. Not books and links, but what you tell yourself when you write. Mine is in the comments. #womensfiction #HistoricalFiction #writing #amediting #revision #dialogue

@Naked_Determina I love writing scenery but then I always have to trim it away!!

@SarahA_writes Simple - Read it out loud! Let it sit for a day or two and read it out loud again. Then ask yourself, does your dialog sound like what ppl would say? Personally, I struggle more with descriptions of scenery etc. I always wonder, "how much does the reader actually want to know?"

@davidtmccarty This is true of writing in general, I’d say! But there are certainly ways to get better at both, whether you start with a good ear or not, don’t you think??

@ellen_hawley Yes this all rings true. I tend to over-describe gestures and tones of voice though, which gets tedious. The dialogue itself has to carry the main weight I think.

@SarahA_writes 1. Dialog isn't just words but gestures, silences, interruptions, incoherence, brilliance, everything. 2. Listen to how people mesh & don't mesh when they talk. 3. Move the story forward, but if you focus only on that it'll go flat. Yr characters have life outside of the plot.

@Mariah94350720 Agree

@SarahA_writes No small talk. Everything should serve the story, whether it gives the reader some information about event and makes characters act or show their personalities. Manner of speech shows their personalities as well.

@ThomasJBellezza I like this advice, it’s what I often do but I hadn’t thought to express it so clearly!

@SarahA_writes What has helped me over the years are these two things. 1. Write out the dialogue however it comes out of you. Then go back and delete anything that is empty or pointless. 2. On the first draft write dialogue that is plot driven. On the first edit run through dress it up.

@kctorawrites Keeping each character’s voice distinct is so important, good point

@SarahA_writes I want each character to have their own voice and distinct way of talking and vocabulary. I hear them in my head and write what they say. When reading it over, I read it aloud to make sure it sounds coherent and natural.

@sydyoungstories Agree, slimmed down dialogue is almost always better

@SarahA_writes Trim from the opening and the end and maybe even the middle—and then it sounds right. Also, I live by your first point, especially for conflict. All of that is avoiding “on the nose” and is the only way to be. Also live theatre ingrains rhythm and character flavor.

@huhufrostwrites Agree on not always using full sentences, but I have to disagree about the filler words. Cut them unless they are really necessary to characterization.

@SarahA_writes Read your dialogue out loud, pretending like you're speaking to a friend. If it sounds weird, then you need to tweak it. Also, please include filler words like "like", "um" and that sort of thing (but not too many) and please don't make them speak in full sentences all the time.

@ManerWare Make it believable but make it original, a hard balance sometimes!

@SarahA_writes Have I heard this before? Is it something someone would actually say? Does it fit with this character? Why would this character say this now/here?

@FredFahey2 Yes, this is key! Characters can chat all day but why do they NEED to be saying those things?

@SarahA_writes I tell myself the dialog needs to serve a purpose. Sometimes it is fun to imagine your characters talking to each other, but does the dialog serve the story by either moving the plot along or further defining who your characters and their relationships are.

@EileenCSchwab Yes, good one: read it aloud!!!