The library in Portland changed how I write dialogue forever

I stopped by the Multnomah County Library downtown last Saturday just to get out of the rain. Ended up in the poetry section by accident, and this old worn copy of Raymond Carver's short stories caught my eye. I always thought literary fiction was too slow and boring, I wanted action and plot twists. But I sat down and read three stories in a row, all about regular people in kitchens and bars. The way he gets a whole relationship across with just a few plain words, no fancy descriptions at all. It hit me that all my dialogue sounded like bad TV scripts, everyone explaining their feelings out loud. Now I'm rewriting a scene where two siblings argue over a broken lawnmower and I'm trying to say more with what they don't say. Has anyone else had a book completely flip how you approach a writing prompt?

0 comments

0 Comments

No comments yet

Be the first to share your thoughts on this discussion.