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Do you have any advice on how to make dialogue more interesting? Whenever I write dialogue, it always feels so bland and monotonous.

So, I actually have a college degree in screenwriting, and I think trying to write a script or two will really help you practice those skills! Since almost everything is communicated in a script as very simple action, it's the dialogue you actually have to think about and play with how it is phrased.

Reading your dialogue out loud is also a good tactic; does it sound clunky? Would you naturally shorten words, use a different term, interrupt someone?

What about the differences in how characters speak? Maybe one has certain words they use more than others. One character might be a bit more monotonous, the other might use a ton of exclamation marks. You want to be able to do this with two characters (aka write a back and forth with no dialogue tags) and not have the readers be confused:

"And then, get this, I was walking down the trail, in the dark, all alone, the wind whistling around me, like it was drawing me in–"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. What did you see?"

"Well I saw a HUGE monster with glowing red eyes, fangs, drool dripping from its maw–"

"...It was the neighbor's cat, wasn't it."

"IT WAS THE NEIGHBOR'S CAT!"

Really simple example, but I think you can pick up instantly what kind of characters are talking, who is talking, their attitudes about the situation without directly saying that, and probably a guess at the age range the characters are.

You can communicate far more than just what characters are actually speaking about within their dialogue, you just need to study how other authors (and people in real life!) do it and practice.

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Rarity never found her *prince*, per se

whatever. go my scarab

my first actual contribution. hello mouthwashers

Hi! I was just wondering, what's the best way to make/write out a plot?

Guide: How to Outline a Plot

The best way to outline a plot isn’t the same for everyone, and sometimes it’s even different from story to story. There are lots of different methods, and most writers use a combination of them, so you just have to try different things to see what works best for you. Here are some of the most common methods:

1. Just Write

Some writers are what’s known as “pansters” meaning that once they have a story idea in mind, they prefer to “fly by the seat of their pants” and start writing without any planning in place. The key to making this method work is to remember that you’re only writing the first draft. Nothing you’re doing is set in stone, so don’t feel the story has to be perfect in one shot. Follow your gut and write the story to the best of your ability. Worry about tightening and polishing in subsequent drafts.

2. Synopsis

Some writers prefer to start by writing beginning to end summary of the story, describing all the important details and events in the order that they unfold. Summaries can be a great way to flesh out an idea for a plot, and they can also serve as a nice guideline if you want to “just write” your story but need a bit more structure first.

3. Old-Fashioned Outline

Do they still teach academic outlining in school? I don’t even know… when I was a kid, we learned how to do outlines with Roman numerals for the main points, capital letters for the minor points, and numbers for sub-points. If you’re good at outlining, this can be a great way to outline your plot.Edit: to clarify, it looks like this:I. Main Idea       A. Minor Idea            1. Sub-Idea                   i. sub-idea                  ii. sub-idea            2. Sub-Idea                  i. sub-idea                 ii. sub-idea     B. Minor Idea            1. Sub- Idea                   i. sub-idea        ii. sub-idea… … and so on. And no, I don’t mean the “seven step story structure outline.” This is an academic outline. It can be used for anything, including outlining a story. :)

4. Timeline

Creating a timeline for your story can be a great way to map it out. All you need is a beginning event, climax event, and end event. From there you can start filling in the events that follow and precede those events. Even if you don’t know the exact date for when a scene takes place, you can still mark it down in the right general place.

5. Scene List

If you have a pretty good idea of the scenes that need to take place, or at least a good number of them, you can start by writing out a scene list. It’s nice to do them in a table if you can so you can organize important details, like chapter, scene number, date and location, who’s in it, and then a short summary. Though, how you organize it is up to you. If you prefer, you can just write the scene number and then a brief summary.

6. Story Structure Map

Some writers like to map out their story according to whatever story structure they want to follow. They’ll pull up a graphic or chart of the structure, transcribe it onto paper or into a document, and then note each relevant event for each structure “mile marker.”

7. Subway/Tube Map

This is a new one I recently heard about. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but I think it’s fascinating. And there are even subway map creators you can use if you don’t want to draw it out. Ultimately, the goal is to map out the events of your story in the style of a subway/tube map. This method makes it easy to illustrate subplots and see how they relate to the rest of your story.

8. The Mind Map

Mind maps can be a fantastic way to get the most important parts of your story out on paper, and to start figuring out where other parts fit in and how they relate to everything else.

9. Index Cards

Some writers have luck writing out key scenes, moments, bits of dialogue (or anything else they have in mind) on individual index cards, which can then be laid out in order on a table, allowing for cards to be easily moved around, added, subtracted, etc. until a more complete story starts to emerge. Some writers even invest in giant cork boards for this purpose. Others use a dry erase board and draw out the “cards” instead. A lot of story writing software, such as Scrivener, even includes digital bulletin boards and index cards that you can use to visualize your story.

10. Method/Theory/Template

There are numerous methods/theories/templates dedicated to building/fleshing out plots. Some to look into:

- The Snowflake Method- Dramatica Theory- Save the Cat! for Novels- The Hero’s Journey

If one of the above doesn’t work for you, you’re sure to find even more ideas online. Try doing a search for “how to outline a plot” or “outlining a novel” to see what comes up. You might even try searching for your favorite author’s name plus “outlining” to see if they’ve done any posts sharing their own methods. You may also want to look into books, software, and apps/web sites that offer ways to help you plot your story.

Good luck!

me when i got the miitopia autism instead of the being good at science or math autism

Puppy in cozy, toasty warm, comfort.  Taken into the flock. 

it should be illegal to take a nap and still have a headache when you wake up. like no i shut it off and back on again why are you still here

"Useless ray of goddamn sunshine. You could have taught an old fool like me a lot."

Referenced Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan (1885)