Reviews, Recipes, and Random Slices of Life

The topic of this month's TCSFWN meet-up was dialog, and it didn't spark as much discussion as you might think. (Groan, yes, I know--couldn't resist.)

These are my notes for myself and ideas sparked off of discussions. Whether they'll even be intelligible to anybody else, let alone of use, I do not know.

Technique - Try setting up particular mannerisms (v. minor ones) to interweave with the dialog as an emotion key or counterpoint.

When writing aliens that you want to sound alien, try using an alternate grammar structure (think Yoda), untranslatable words, or sensory cues/expressions that could not be verbalized but would normally be part of an alien dialog. Smell, color, holding a certain position, etc. Might also be interesting to play with how a translator would handle those cues. Possible transcription mode example: "Would you go[fear/victory] to your home[paternal]?"

Tip: Use the automatic language translators and run a sentence through a language to get a feel for how things might be switched around in translation.

Sometimes when a conversation is held in two different languages, with each individual sticking to their own despite understanding the other, it may be a way to assert dominance.

When worldbuilding, consider the culture and what is considered disgusting or profane, so that you can get a feel for what sort of things wouldn't be talked about and what sort of things would be profanity/insults.

Figure out the rhythms of the speech. If writing dialect, listening to audiobooks can really help this.

Recommendation for dialect research: "American Dialects" by Lewis Herman. I might use this recommendation if I write some of the urban fantasy/rural fantasy/magic realism stuff I've been thinking about.

Warning: Huge write-up ahead!

Last weekend I went to the 4th Street Fantasy convention (http://www.4thstreetfantasy.com/). As part of my attempt to level up as a SFF writer, I'd decided that this was the year I should make a point of going to conventions, either writing conventions or fantasy and science fiction conventions. Finding one that was both made me happy.

I couldn't justify getting a hotel room. I live in Minneapolis. My budget is already cranky about the hotel room I'm sharing with others for CONvergence. So I used the light rail and my bike. That's when I discovered that my poor old bike's fender means it doesn't go at all easily into the designated bike rack on the light rail. I feel a bit lucky that I didn't die biking home in the dark along city streets at 1 AM. I am in favor of me not dying. I came home every night, though quite late; it still felt as if I'd been gone for a week by the end of the convention.

Lesson #1: 4th Street Fantasy Convention distorts space and time.

( The panels were both useful and shiny. )