The Giver - Enneagram Type #2

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today, we continue with our Enneagram personality types. I do hope you're enjoying all the learning around here. I'm gonna take the time to remind you all, I give a four-week class on these things. You can check it out over on INDIE Books Gone Wild. Now, without further ado, I give you: The Giver.

I'll be using definitions of each type from a book titled: The Enneagram Made Easy: Discover the 9 Types of People. That's the link to the Kindle edition, if you choose to check it out for yourself. Type 1 can be found on this post: The Reformer - Enneagram Type #1.

Today, we talk about #2 - The Giver.
Definition: Givers are motivated by the need to be loved and valued and to express their positive feelings toward others. Traditionally society has encouraged #2 qualities in females more than in males.

These characters aren't usually good as protagonists in novels where the lead needs to be aggressive. They're passive, advice-giving people who are always willing to share what they have with others.

Keep in mind that what people say and what they do are oftentimes very different. Givers are the same. From my post on Holding a Grudge, from my Human Nature series, you can see this character would most likely fit into the category of Pretending to Let it Go. Oftentimes, their words and actions don't match their thoughts.

They also love to be martyrs. They'll sacrifice just about anything in the hopes people stand up and say, "Wow. That was really great of them to give the rest of their life to save hers." But even when people don't appreciate those actions, the giver will continue to give. It's what they know.

There's an easy way to let the reader know your character is a giver: inner-monologue.

This leads us to the exercise for today!
Write a page or two of dialogue in first-person interspersing inner-monologue. Have the giver face another character who's always asking for something. This is where you can really make your reader either love or hate the giver. Either way, go for strong emotional reaction to the character by the reader. Make your giver someone your reader won't forget any time soon.

I'm leaving you with a little treat today! Through tomorrow at midnight, my fantasy novel, The Bird, will be free on Amazon. Pop on over and grab a copy!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

The Reformer - Enneagram Type #1

Welcome back to Monday, good people of the blogosphere. Another week is upon us. Good news! For the next ten days, you're going to get a treat from the blog. We'll be going over Enneagram personality types and how you can use this labeling system to create dynamic characters. Not only will you be producing more interesting characters, they'll also have wants and needs. Hopefully, you can bring this out in dialogue with the exercise given at the bottom of each post. So grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

I'll be using definitions of each type from a book titled: The Enneagram Made Easy: Discover the 9 Types of People. That's the link to the Kindle edition, if you choose to check it out for yourself.

Today, we talk about #1 - The Reformer.
Definition: Reformers are motivated by the need to live their lives the right way, including improving themselves and the world around them.

These characters are outspoken and never miss an opportunity to point someone in a direction the reformer believes is right. Now, keep in mind these folks live with a strong point of view that isn't always socially acceptable. They try; but they don't always succeed. Oftentimes, they're called smartasses, jerks, assholes, or know-it-alls behind their backs. But they can come in handy either as a lead character or a secondary character who pushes the lead to do the "right" thing.

Reformers can also be fun. If you have one in your story, you might want to give him or her a snarky attitude. This could be great for the punchlines of jokes or just to annoy the crap out of other characters. Perhaps you can off the reformer just so the reader punches the air and yells, "It's about time!"

You decide what kind of personality to give your character. Why not have a reformer in the slew of cast you pull from your imagination? They're almost guaranteed to give your story the two-punch in the guts it needs.

Time for the day's exercise!
Write a few paragraphs of dialogue where a reformer talks to you. Let them show you where you're going wrong and have them point you in the "right" direction. See what kind of things you learn about the character. Tell them off, agree with them, or just let them rant at you about everything you're doing wrong and how you might be able to fix it.

This is going to be a long two weeks. But if you hang in there, I promise you'll be thanking me by the end.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dialogue Exercises - #5

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! Oh, man, what a week it's been! Busy is always good for a writer though, so I can't complain. Is everyone ready for the weekend? I know I am! Before you take off and grab some R&R, do a dialogue exercise or two and flex your creative brain. You won't be sorry. Today is the last day of pumping brain iron. Next week, and the week after, we'll be going over something that will help you with a final exercise. I'm not gonna ruin it by giving it away now. Come on back Monday and see what's in store! Enough about that, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you'd like to check out the first four posts, follow the links below:
Dialogue Exercises - #1
Dialogue Exercises - #2
Dialogue Exercises - #3
Dialogue Exercises - #4

There are fifteen exercises total, three on each day. Remember, each of these workouts calls for at least two pages of dialogue.

Exercise #13: Using dialogue to create sympathy.
Grab a protagonist and antagonist from one of your stories. Throw them into a setting and have them talk about their pasts. Show your reader why they should root for one over the other; or, make your reader feel a little sorry for your antagonist.

Exercise #14: Adding dialogue where you usually wouldn't to amp up the scene.
Put two characters on an island and have them make love. Write what you think they'd say if they were speaking while participating in the act. Use this to garner a deeper understanding of what your characters are feeling as they do something where speech isn't usually the order of the day, to set the scene, or as a surprise to wake your reader up and make them pay attention.

Exercise #15: Revealing obstacles through dialogue.
This time, use yourself. Think of a lofty goal you have and bring someone into the scene who never fails to tell you like it is. Open the scene with that person revealing an obstacle you can't overcome. Focus on your own feelings and how you'd react when you realize your dreams just went down the toilet. Use the rest of the scene to convey the goal to the reader and have them understand why it can't be accomplished no matter what.

I hope these exercises have been useful, and I hope you did at least one of the fifteen. The next ten days are gonna be awesome! Make sure you come on back and check it out. If you'd like these helpful tips delivered to your e-mail inbox every day, subscribe to my blog!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dialogue Exercises - #4

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend planned. Just two more days to go now. That's two more days of dialogue exercises. If you want to rush the time along, try doing one or more of these today. Before you know it, it'll be Friday! Grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

Again, I won't bore you by repeating myself. If you want to check out days one, two, and three, you can find them here:

Dialogue Exercises - #1
Dialogue Exercises - #2
Dialogue Exercises - #3

Remember, each of these exercises require at least two pages of dialogue.

Exercise #10: Remembering your senses when writing dialogue.
Take a place you've visited that's full of activity and bring it to mind. Put two characters in the midst of it all and have them talk about what's going on around them. Use all five senses as you write so your reader gets a good idea what the place is like. Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Bring the venue to life on the page. Make one of them blind, if that helps.

Exercise #11: Using dialogue to bring about transformation.
Using the confrontation/response method, create dialogue in which one character gives the other a reason to change. Make it so the protagonist has to look deep within and see something they hadn't before. Your antagonist can be cruel or kind in their observations/opinions, but their words should bring about change.

Exercise #12: Setting tone/voice with dialogue.
Something is in the woods. A mom and daughter are camping, alone. Suddenly, mom feels like they're in danger. Using dialogue, set the tone of the scene. Be true to your characters and really bring forward their fear and Mom's protectiveness over her daughter.

I hope you'll give at least one of these a whirl today. You can't get better if you don't practice! Tomorrow is the last day of dialogue exercises. Next week, I'm going to begin a 10 day series on a very important topic relating to dialogue. Come back every day and see what you find!

Which one of these is your favorite?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dialogue Exercises - #3

Happy Hump-Day, good people of the blogosphere! I hope the first half of your week has exceeded expectations and the second half looks promising! Today, we continue with our dialogue exercises! Three more tools to add to your belt to help you on your journey to greatness. Remember, over on INDIE Books Gone Wild, I give a writing class that goes through this and so much more! Grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

You can find day one here.
And day two here.

Remember, each of these exercises calls for at least two pages of dialogue.

Exercise #7: Writing telephone dialogue.
Take two of your characters and make them interact over the phone. Stay in one POV. Write both sides of the conversation but omit all hellos and goodbyes. Use assumption to infer what the other character is doing while talking. Make it a heated conversation or put something big at stake. Now go back and write it from the other POV.

Exercise #8: Removing all saids from dialogue.
Write a conversation between two of your characters without using the word said. You may only use actions, thoughts, or observations.

Exercise #9: Killing direct addresses in dialogue.
Go through a passage you've written from above and take out all instances of direct address. Make it work through actions instead.

Example:
"John, did you see that UFO just now?" Marsha screamed.
"No, Marsha, I didn't. I was too busy looking at you."
"But, John, we're at an observatory!"
"I know, Marsha. I am observing," said John.

Change to:
"Did you see that UFO just now?" Marsha screamed.
"No, I didn't. I was too busy looking at you." John's face was slack and his eyes bored into her.
She felt her face get hot. "But we're at an observatory!"
"I know. I am observing."

See how much more natural that sounds?

I do hope you take the time to do at least one of the above exercises. Your manuscript will thank you for it later.

Have any of these worked out for you? Are you trying them?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dialogue Exercises - #2

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! Today we continue on our journey through dialogue exercises. If you missed post #1, please go back and take a gander here. If not, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

I'm not going to bore you all to tears with a repeat of what I said yesterday. Let's just dive on into the exercises!

Every exercise below calls for at least two pages of dialogue.

Exercise 4: Using dialogue to set mood.
Just like you can use dialogue to set a scene, you can also use it to set a mood. Stick two of your characters in a setting that will enhance the mood and let them discuss what they're seeing or feeling in the moment. For fun, try using a setting you'd never expect to see in your novel and let the dialogue flow. Focus on emotion and try to set the mood with speech rather than scene.

Exercise 5: Adding dialogue to action scenes.
Pull up an action scene you've written where there's little to no dialogue. Read it a couple of times and think about your character as you do. Recall their personality, habits, and opinions. Add no less than sixteen lines of dialogue that convey a few of those habits and opinions. Let their personality shine as you write.

Exercise 6: Increase the suspense with dialogue.
Every character has opinions. Write a scene in which two characters are going head-to-head over action items they believe will garner the desired resolution of the journey. Make it heated but use it to move your story along. Create conflict over something one deems appropriate and the other says will get everyone killed. Decide on an outcome.

Again, I hope you put at least one of these in your pocket and give it a try today. Come on back tomorrow for three more!

What exercises do you use to improve your written dialogue skills?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dialogue Exercises - #1

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! This week we'll be delving into dialogue. I'll give you a total of fifteen exercises (three per day) you can do to make your dialogue stronger. Nothing ruins a great story quite like stilted dialogue, unnatural sounding dialogue, no dialogue at all, or overabundance of conversation. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

There are so many different ways to use dialogue to improve story flow. These exercises will help you overcome some of the things that stilt a story. Again, this series is part of the writing class I give over on INDIE Books Gone Wild.

Every exercise below calls for at least two pages of dialogue.

Exercise 1: Using dialogue to reveal setting.
Take two characters you've used in a past novel and throw them into a scene together. Only using dialogue, reveal to the reader what setting the characters are in. I'm asking you to use two characters you've written before so you have an idea of the types of things they'll notice. You may want to throw in a conflict here and have them argue about where they are. As another option, perhaps it's a place neither have been before and they're exclaiming over things they see. Remember, be gradual. No information dumps. What would they say?

Exercise 2: Using dialogue to reveal or convey feelings.
Write a conflict scene between two characters you've written that love one another. Do it from one person's POV then switch. Betrayed to betrayer. Feel what they're feeling and use it.

Exercise 3: Weaving dialogue, action, and narrative together.
Using one of the reveal scenes from above, go back and add action to the scene. Put in little facial clues or gestures to show the reader more. Try adding a narrator to the scene. Where would they comment on what's going on? Now cut 1/4 of the dialogue and let the action be the revealing element. Read for flow.

There are a number of things you can use dialogue to do. Rather than giving your reader a couple of paragraphs about the setting, give them lines where the character reacts to what he/she is seeing. Avoid the information dump.

I hope you enjoyed this post and did at least one of the exercises. Come on back tomorrow for more!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo