Dear World

Please Kill Me,

Hello, my battalion of beaten spirits. I hope all is well, and your limbs are still properly attached (if not, I’m sorry – but I will still laugh at you. ((to your face though, (((I’m not a monster))) I may be a monster.)) I’m a monster – RAHHHH!!!!)

That was -Cadence. You can get away with very horrible things if you master it (At least I do). How you say things is key. Not only will it lift the entertainment value of your story – but will also improve it.

No, you do not have to be a dick-bag about it, (that’s just kind of my schtick. Plus -admit that I’m good at it.) You SEE?! You still like me. Cadence,Cadence, Cadence. (For the dyslexic ” CA – de_ Ence.) You SEE! I did it again! (Sorry, I’ve been on a whiskey high for like a week. The advice is coming).

The tone of your story is precious, however to use it as such, is a task – but possible. If you want it to be happy, sad, informative, whatever- study the art of speech. Simply presenting a topic is never enough- you must show it.

To do this you need a few tools (a mastery of the language is a plus).

1.) Differentiation – Your characters should never be interchangeable. It can be tempting to make their dialogue similar (because of course, as the author your own speech is embedded in them). Do your best to separate yourself. Each character is their own individual -whose thoughts and actions are independent of their creator (you) keep that in mind.

2.) Pace- It’s common thinking that this is done through “formal literary structure” , but the exchange amongst your characters, actually develop that. Figure out how you want the interactions to feel , and keep with it. Consistency is key.

3.) Dialect – Your characters shouldn’t all sound generic. Based on where your story takes place they should speak accordingly (Ergo. Past, future, American, African, Chinese, etc.) Know what they sound like, portray that. Your readers will thank you. At the very least I will ( albeit begrudgingly).

4.) Intellect – If your character is supposed to be an idiot, they shouldn’t speak like a rocket scientist – and vice versa.  Understand who they are, develop their background, and allow them to reflect it. Doing this will not only make each character unique , but will also save you pages upon pages of (what surely is) unnecessary explanation.

I’m sure there’s plenty more, but I like to keep these brief. I’ll probably add to the list later -right now the room is spinning.

Room’s still spinning,

-Antwan Crump.