The Sneaky Double-Dialouge Pattern of Bestselling Authors

One of my favorite moments in any story is a well-crafted piece of dialogue. You know what I mean. The kind of dialogue that catches you off guard, stuns you with its simple brilliance, throws a one-two punch at your gut and, maybe-just maybe- even gets a snicker.

Often, the dialogue is written in a very structured, thought-out fashion. Or so it seems. Often, the dialogue follows a similar pattern. So often, in fact, that I feel obligated to pass along this secret bestselling authors (and great writers of any medium) use over and over again with wonderful results.

The dialogue secret is, as I affectionately refer to it, the Double-Dialogue Pattern.

After you learn it, you'll start noticing it in almost every story you read-or watch. Sitcoms. Movies. Short Stories. Novels. Etc.

After you learn it, you might even start to see dialogue in a whole new light. For some of you, it may be like showing you an impossible magic trick in slow motion, revealing the subtle moves that make the trick work.

The Double-Dialogue Pattern might be best illustrated by showing it at work. Let's take the movie, Phenomenon, with John Travolta. One of my favorites.

In the movie, there is a moment of dialogue like I've described at the beginning of this blog. The moment passes quickly, but the dialogue resonates with me for the rest of the movie, and beyond. You can't ask much more of dialogue. It's really only one line.

Here is the line, as I recall it: (A little set up might help. John Travolta is speaking to Kyra Sedgwick, who is sitting in a malfunctioning truck. The attraction between the two is palpable. John is standing outside the truck, desperately trying to show his affection. Kyra isn't having it.)

John: "I'd sure like to get my hands on your carburettor."

Kyra: "I bet you would."

Hmmm....are they still talking about the truck???

That's the power of the Double-Dialogue Pattern. It communicates two messages at one time, the message on the surface (the truck) and the hidden or indirect message (the physical attraction).

Bestselling novelists and other master writers make use of this pattern constantly. The key is in the set up. The writer must first create the two meanings, then craft dialogue that blends them into one line or even one word.

Take, for example, a scene from an episode of the FOX sitcom, Back To You, with Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton.

Here's the set up. Heaton helps her daughter with a school project, which involves creating a visual of the universe. The next scene has Kelsey show up at Heaton's house. Heaton decides to tell her daughter that Kelsey is her biological father. Kelsey is nervous about how Heaton's daughter will react. When Heaton starts to tell her daughter, Kelsey passes out, landing on top of the school project. When Kelsey wakes up, this is what happens:

The daughter: "You crushed my universe!"

Kelsey (to Heaton): "You told her?"



Can you spot the Double-Dialogue Pattern? Yes, it's the word "universe." All that set up for a one-word punch line. It worked. I laughed even as I recognized the pattern. Heaton's daughter meant that Kelsey had destroyed her school project, a visual representation of the actual universe. Kelsey thought his daughter was reacting to the news that he was her father. Classic double-dialogue pattern.

So, in summary, the key to this pattern is:

1. Set up two meanings (ex. The noisy truck and the attraction or the school project and the biological father conversation)
2. Create a line of dialogue that captures both meanings (ex. "I'd like to get my hands on your carburettor" or "You crushed my universe")

Keep writing.

C.H. Kokoski

How Horoscopes Can Help You Create A Bestseller

While I don't believe in the inherent reliability of my daily horoscope, it's amazing how accurately my astrological sign describes my personality. I don't understand it, yet I'm pleasantly amazed.


Astrological signs can do more than provide a brief respite of humor from the often chaotic world. They can also help insightful writers craft bestsellers.


How do they do it?


In my library, I have a book entitled Zodiac Types. The book markets itself as "A sign-by-sign guide to personality, love, career, money and health."


Truly, it's a wonderful resource for character creation. It's not the only tool I use, but it helps.


How does it help?


When you go to create a character or characters, you can browse through the pages of a book (or a website for that matter) on astrological signs. Each sign portrays a different personality. Pick the personality that makes the most sense for the main character(s) in your book. The particular sign can offer lots of interesting color to your character's personality, providing additional insight and perhaps sparking plot twists and turns.


Another way astrological signs can help is by providing you with ready-made character personalities that differ. Most (if not all) of the characters in your story should be different. Solution: give each character a different astrological sign, complete with unique personality. And, wallah, you have a complex set of characters in which conflict is almost a given. Believe me, you could do much worse.


Here are a few websites to consider when creating your next bestseller:


http://www.psychicguild.com/
http://chinese.astrology.com/
http://www.astrologycom.com/




Keep Writing,


P.S.-My sign is Cancer.

How Bestselling Authors Craft Unforgettable Characters Everytime

Harry Potter. Odd Thomas. Alex Cross. How do bestselling authors create unforgettable characters that pull readers by the millions? While I don't have the space in a single blog to pontiferate on the various techniques that make up characters in bestsellers, I want to give you one such technique.


Let's begin by describing what characters in run-of-the-mill novels look like. They look, talk, dress, act, struggle and appear the same. They move with the same set of gestures. They speak in the same manner. They react to the problems of the story in the same predictable ways.


On the other hand, charactes in bestselling fiction differ.


They look different, from the clothes they wear to the the structure of their faces. Some have big noses. Others walk with a limp. Still others have their hair pulled back in long ponytails.


They sound different. They use different words, different language patterns, speak shorter or longer, more or less, with bigger or smaller vocabularies.


They react differently. They each show a different take on the story problem. Some give into the problem. Some fight it. Some try to negotiate with it. Through the actions and reactions of the story people, we (the readers) learn the many facets of the central struggle of the story.


In short, bestselling authors create characters that look, sound and react differently from each other.



We'll discuss characters more deeply in other blogs. For now, let's look at the story you're working on right now, or a future story you plan to write.



Ask the following questions of your story:

• Are the characters in my story all different from one another?


• How are they different in how they look?


• How are they different in how they speak?


• How are they different in how they react to the main story problem or the central story question?

This should get you started.



Until next time, Keep writing.



C.H. Kokoski

The Secret of Variation (Part III)

If you've read parts I and II of my posts on The Secret of Variation, then you now know how powerfully this seemingly simple writing technique can transform your fiction. That's what this blog is all about: lifting you and your writing to the next level.




On that note, in this post we'll examine how variation applies to pace.




Pace, like story structure, is an often invisible element that seperates great novels from mediocre to terrible ones. Pace comes in all shapes and styles. Slow pace is the silent killer of so many promising stories. Fast past is preferable, but an endless breakneck speed comes with its own set of problems.




So how do bestselling authors deal with pace?




Good question. And I bet you alreadly know the answer. Ok, well part of it anyway.




For one, bestselling authors use advanced techniques, like variation, to sqeeze all of the energy out of it. Bestselling authors know that pace, like nothing else, will keep readers reading. A mastery of pace will go a long way in moving your work toward bestseller status.




When readers say, "I read it in one night," or "I couldn't put it down," you're witnessing the impact of a well-constructed pace.




So lesson one is that pace is critical to your success as an author. Lesson two is how exactly to use pace to your advantage.




On with lesson two!




Bestselling authors vary pace by controlling the speed of individual scenes, or groups of scenes. Read almost any bestseller from Harry Potter to the Da Vinci Code and you'll see the genuis of a great pace.




Most scenes in bestsellers are fast: Fast-Fast-Fast-Fast




But not all of them: Fast-Fast-Fast-Fast-Medium Speed-Fast




The key to varying pace is to keep the story fast, but slow down every now and then to let your characters (and your readers) breath. Not too long now. Better a fast story than one that plods along.




Of course, pace relys on a good story with lots of conflict, complications and obstacles for the hero to overcome. You can't have a fast pace with weak story material.




Every story is different. Some novels can survive more medium or slow scenes than others. But I'd be remiss if I didn't warn you that it takes a writer at the top of his or her craft to pull together a bestselling novel from the threads of slow scenes.




How many books have you stopped reading in frustration because of endless slow scenes? Who care about the intimate details of cooking scrambled eggs? I want to know who killed the mayor? How many movies dragged on well past the slow scene limit? Most stories, whether on the page or on the screen, can withstand only one or two, maybe even three, slow scenes.




Consider yourself warned.




In the end, it's better to have a majority of fast-paced scenes, a few scenes of medium speed to relieve the tension, and slow scenes only if God Himself appears to you at your computer and commands you keep them in.







Until next time, keep writing.







C.H.K.

The Secret of Variation (Part II)

In my last post, we looked at a global view of the secret of variation, applying it to the entire story. In this post, I'd like to zoom in on plot and structure. Bestselling authors squeeze as much out of the secret of variation as they can because they know it matters to readers, editors, publishers and agents.


Perhaps no one has ever told you how important this advanced writing technique was to your success as a writer. I don't want to be one of those people. I want you to know the methods that can blast your career to the next level. Don't underestimate the power of variation to drastically change the response of readers (both editors and future fans) to your fiction.


Let's get on with it. How do you apply variation to your plot?


Plot has more definitions than the dictionary. For our purposes, plot will mean the events in your story. Simple as that. Maybe you call it structure, a scene list, or what happens in your book.


Whatever you name it, plot will make or break your story. A good plot can overcome almost any other flaw in your writing. A bad plot will sink your novel faster than a cement boot.


What makes a bestselling plot? While I don't have the space here to give the low down all the techniques bestselling authors use to craft mesmerizing plots time and time again, I can reveal one of those secret tactics. You guessed it. Variation.


What does it mean to vary plot?


For one, it means that your story isn't crammed with similar scenes. That's why writing out your scenes on a piece of paper or on a computer can be helpful. It allows you to get a grasp of your story at a glance. Are there fifteen interrogations in your novel? Are they all in a police "interview" room?


When you catch yourself writing scenes that look and feel the same, beware. Almost everyone who reads your novel will be annoyed and put off. They may not be able to tell you why they stopped reading and opted to catch up on American Idol. But they will stop.


And when a reader stops reading, it's like a movie patron walking out of the theater.


It's bad luck for the writer.


Let's get a bit more specific. Variation as applied to plot means to consciously write scenes that differ from all the other scenes in your story. Sure, sometimes you write similar scenes on purpose, to highlight familiar places, theme, or to end your story. I get it. Those are not the scenes I'm referring to at the moment.


If you want to be a bestselling author, the fact is that the vast majority of the scenes in your story better be different. Interrogation in a police "interview" room. Interrogation by another character or set of characters during a high-speed chase. Interrogation while skydiving. Interrogation by means of torture. You get the drift. Make your scenes differ in setting, scope, character, etc, even if the basic concept of the scene remains the same.


However, if you can swing it, make even the type of scenes vary from others. Knock out some of those interrogation scenes. Or, at the least, place them at intervals throughout the story, broken by other scenes (car chase, gun fight, romance, etc).


How do you replace the same kind of scenes? Using the interrogation example, let's look at how a writer might apply variation to plot.


Say the first draft of the story includes ten interrogation scenes. The writer wants to replace some of those scenes with other scenes so that future readers don't give up on the story and go play Wii. How does he do it?


Here's one method:


1. Examine the scene.
2. Write down the purpose of the scene (the character's goal).
3. Brainstorm other ways the character might reach the goal.
4. Write the new scene.


Here's how the writer of the interrogation story might work through the four steps above.

1. The writer examines the interrogation scene.
2. The writer writes down that the purpose of the scene is for his main character to get a certain piece of information crucial to the storyline.
3. The writer brainstorms other ways, beside interrogation, that the character could get the information. He comes up with several: Hack a computer, snoop through someone's house, tail someone in a car, etc.
4. The writer decides on the best replacement scene and writes it.
   

That's variation as applied to plot. Best of writing luck!

The Secret of Variation (Part I)

Any novice writer learned long ago the technique of variation. Not convinced? What is this "Secret of Variation" you say? I could answer the question in several ways.



I might say, "Variation is a simple, but confoundedly difficult, technique master writers apply to every novel, every chapter, every scene." It would not be untrue for me to answer, "Variation is what separates the amateur scribbler from the bestselling author."



Enough stalling. Simply put, the secret of variation is change.



Changing sentence length and style (no doubt a lesson you learned years ago). Changing setting and tone. Changing pace. Changing point of view. Changing. Variation.



Variation is what readers crave. It is part of the magic beneath the surface of every good story, pulling readers along like a kite on a string. It is the surprise of dialogue, the unexpected action, the shocking revelation.



It is also one of the nuts and bolts of a bestseller.



For example, let's take an actual bestselling author, Dean Koontz, and see how he applies the secret of variation to his novel, The Good Guy.



Here is Dean Koontz's first few pages broken down by variation. Look closely and you might even find a hidden structural secret (we'll call it an extra bonus for those of you with keen observation skills):



First Page:

1st paragraph: A description of a mayfly.

2nd paragraph: A description of the protagonist, the hero. (Two descriptions, sure, but look how different they are from each other)

3rd paragraph: Continuation of description of the hero. Also, a description of the first setting, a bar. This is part description, part action.

4th paragraph: Action of the hero.

5th paragraph: More description of the bar. The first paragraph bleeds into the second page, so we'll pick up with the 6th paragraph of the story, the second paragraph on page two.



Second Page:

6th paragraph: Introduction of another character, and action.

7th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor character

8th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

9th: paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

10th: paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

11th paragraph: Long Dialogue-Minor Character

12th paragraph: Action and dialogue-Hero

13th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

14th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

15th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

16th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

17th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

18th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

19th paragraph: Dialogue -Minor Character



Third Page:

20th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

21st paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

22nd paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

23rd paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

24th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

25th paragraph: Description of Minor Character

26th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

27th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

28th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character



And the rest of the page is a ping-pong match of dialogue between these two interesting characters.



Many of you might be thinking, "Well, what do ya' know? I think you just destroyed your own argument, buddy." You might be right, except that sneaky Dean Koontz slips variation into even several pages of dialogue.



Although by looking at the break down of the first three pages, you see paragraph after paragraph of nothing but dialogue, you ought' to know that the majority of these paragraphs are short. Under ten words, most of them. Some under five words. That's one kind of variation in itself.



Another kind of variation is subject. The two characters (hero and minor character) switch subjects every few paragraphs. They also jump from serious conversation to humor back to serious conversation.



You might have also noticed that Dean Koontz also popped in a few moments of action and description to break up the monotony of dailogue. Call this a variation within variation. Double Variation. Bestselling Authors do it all the time.



How does your writing match up? Are you using the secret of variation beyond sentence length and structure? Take a piece of your writing and ask the following questions:

• Am I varying my sentence length and structure?


• Am I varying between dialogue, action and narration enough?


• Am I varying the subject, length and tone of dialouge?


• Am I varying the pace of the story with scenes of gut-wrenching tension and scenes of tension relief (don't put too many of these in your story or your readers will stop reading)?

In fact, over the next few days, examine every facet of your story, from characters to conflict to structure. Is there variation to be found? Or is everything mind-numbingly the same? Take time. Really look.

And then you'll be ready to come back to read the next blog, The Secret of Variation Part II.

See you then!