CHAT ARCHIVE - 8-22-98, Dialogue

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ICQ Chat Save file
Started on Sun Aug 23 00: :28 1998

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<Chipmonk> Did you take a nap like a good girl.
<Bookpal> She better have!
<crip> she's old when doesn't she nap
<Casey> Yes, I did nap. (I'll ignore crip's remark)
<Chipmonk> When she's sick and she's told to--just to be contrary.
<crip> yeah, stop being sick already
<Casey> Working on it.
<Chipmonk> Casey, my mother said you should put a slice of onion on your
neck.
<crip> along with the garlic
<Casey> That will keep away the gawkers!!
<Chipmonk> Yep. Oh and don't forget to eat lots of cayenne pepper too.
<Casey> Don't think that goes well with cantalope.
<Chipmonk> And yogurt to counteract the effects of the antibiotics.
<Casey> Already ate yogurt.
<Bookpal> Yeah, on that one
<Chipmonk> She'll get well just to avoid our remedies.
<Chipmonk> Crips here so I can't talk about yogurt.
<crip> ??????
<crip> i like yogurt
<Casey> Yeah, know about the yogurt.
<Casey> And, the doctors' cures are looking better and better compared
to your cures, Chip.
<Bookpal> She'll cure you or make you worse
<crip> either way you'll still be old and crotchety so it's not a
complete cure
<Chipmonk> Well, just wait till you get warts, then you'll be begging me
for a cure!
<Casey> I just have to watch myself. Kept thinking I had to take meds
at 9 until I thought harder about it and remembered the time was
midnight for meds. Brain is dangerously foggy here.
<Casey> Started writing drug times on the fridge.
<crip> stick a post-it on the comp. screen
<Chipmonk> That's good. What did people use before refridgerators--for
writing and kids pictures, I mean.
<crip> cave walls?
<crip> at least in casey's era
<Bookpal> Good one crip
<Chipmonk> Did you all get the message about Rex?
<Casey> If I could find my cane I'd whack you.
<Bookpal> I did
<Casey> Yes. Just did when I turned the comp on.
<Chipmonk> What is with this group!!
<Casey> BAIL, before it's too late!!!!
<Chipmonk> Crip, run away fast while you still can!
<Casey> No, Walk! Run and you could trip and break an arm.
<crip> Drugged Crazed Senior Murders Chat Group
<Casey> You make me laugh, crip.
<crip> don't laugh, we don't need you to keel over
<crip> then chip would be in charge
<crip> AHHHHHh
<Chipmonk> You hurt my little feelin's, sniff, pout!
<Casey> Okay, class. Teacher just woke from her snooze. Wanna try
dialogue and see if I can focus?
<crip> wake up, teach, and put those false teeth in so we can understand
you
<Chipmonk> Yes'm.
<Bookpal> Ok, ready
<crip> ready and unwilling
<Casey> Okay then . . .
<Casey> Dialogue is assumed to be easy because everyone talks, but then
writers write, read what they write, and don't understand why characters
sound stilted.
<Casey> Beginning writers usually try to have characters over explain
their actions and intentions using dialogue.
<Casey> Reminds me of bad cops and robbers stories where the villian
stands there and says, "I'm going to hit you over the head, then pull
your hair out one at a time, then cut your left ear off," etc.
<Casey> REAL villains usually know the phychological torment of silence.
<Casey> That an individual's mind can create worst scene scenarios than
words create.
<Casey> This is important to remember in dialogue, as well as in writing
in general: USE the reader's imagination.
<Casey> Point: tell me some of your own imagined worries about my fate
when no one had heard from me for 3 days.
<Casey> Anyone?
<crip> you're really Monica Lewinsky and you were hiding from the media
in political hiding
<Casey> Who told!?
<Bookpal> I wasn't concerned until Chip said a few days ago that you had
been sick. Then she didn't say anymore and you are right, my mind went
nuts
<Bookpal> Chip, even played into it with her little bit of dialogue
<Casey> In dialogue, use allusion (hints) to happenings or what may be
about to happen.
<Chipmonk> I did what?
<Casey> (Chip plays into everything! Nothing escapes the rodent's
attention.)
<Chipmonk> What did I say?
<Bookpal> dialogue is good for foreshadowing
<Casey> Or was it what she didn't say?
<Bookpal> Both! She makes what seems like this simple comment and then I
don't see you or hear anything and there goes the imagination
<Bookpal> Chip - go back up and read Casey's Point - then this will make
sense
<Chipmonk> No, it doesn't.
<Bookpal> Ok. Casey was talking about silence and what did we think when
we didn't hear from her for a few days
<Bookpal> I wasn't worried until you mentioned she was sick - then I got
worried - making her point
<Chipmonk> I kept picturing you with an oxygen mask and tubes and
doctors lancing your neck and puss and blood splatting out!
<crip> wow, chip, i pictured the doctors that way after having to deal
with her *L*
<Chipmonk> And nobody knew what to do to cure it and they were all
worried and she was spiking a high temp and delirious.
<Bookpal> See - I didn't even know about the neck until later - your
imagine was wilder because you could picture things I didn't know about
<Casey> So, the mention of a few crucial facts, then leaving, is the key
here.
<Casey> Leaving the imagination to fill in all the blanks.
<Bookpal> Right, Casey. Point taken and understood
<crip> so not telling all the facts is a good thing?
<Bookpal> Really works in mystery because reader know most of how things
work
<Bookpal> Then you come in with a twist, he, he
<Casey> The trick is to balance what is told with what is omitted.
<crip> ah i see
<Casey> Why something is happening is usually necessary to keep the
reader interested.
<Casey> The significance of that action develops tension/suspence.
<Chipmonk> When someone doesn't say it all most people think they are
holding back to spare their feelings, so they assume the worst.
<Bookpal> tension is very important in dialogue
<Bookpal> I mean for the reader
<crip> so how does one do that without seeming obvious most of the time?
<Bookpal> tension in dialogue comes when you use it to advance the plot
<Casey> Unobvious happens when info is dropped in bits and pieces
naturally in character dialogue and narrative.
<Casey> At every opportunity where additional information does not
interfer with the flow of the writing.
<Casey> But I think we have jumped ahead to foreshadowing and tension
development.
<Casey> Dialogue, first, is usually short sentences.
<Casey> "Hey there."
<Casey> "What's up?"
<Chipmonk> "Nothin'"
<Casey> That's casual conversation. Our sense (or suspicion) is of
someone young, perhaps in their teens.
<crip> "Doh!"
<Casey> "The reaction of carbon dioxide with . . ."
<Casey> gives us a sense of someone educated, older, in a professional
(scientific) field.
<Casey> Even when sentences are longer, as in explanations, we usually
use an economy of words.
<Casey> Fine details are usually understood.
<Casey> "he picked it up in his hand before he realized that . . ."
would usually be said, "He picked it up before he . . ."
<Casey> When I begin feeling that a segment of dialogue has become
unweildy and unnatural, the first thing I do is begin to eliminate all
the unnecessary words.
<crip> isn't there a chance that it could dumb it down by doing that?
<Casey> (I do the same with description, as well.)
<Bookpal> I don't think so, crip.
<Casey> No. Usually the opposite is true, Crip. Too many words dumbs
it down--weighs it down--insults the reader by making them feel the
author thinks they're too stupid to make the leap of connection or
understanding.
<crip> Ah, I understand.
<Bookpal> Then it is more Author Intrusion
<Casey> If you err, err on the side of the reader. Give them the
benefit of the doubt.
<Casey> In crit, we will always let you know if we need more facts.
<Casey> But usually we don't, or we will read to find out the details we
crave.
<Casey> The very words a character uses characterizes them, too.
<Casey> "Ya'll" gives us a whole regional placement and history and
preconceived ideas about a character--by using a single word.
<Casey> The larger a character's vocabulary, the more highly educated he
is assumed to be.
<Casey> One does not trust a Ph.D. level character who intersperses
slang and "low talk" with specialized vocabulary.
<Casey> It could work with a great deal of in depth development, but
generally, to do something like that would only confuse the reader.
<Casey> (I don't believe in "absolute laws" in writing, so I qualify
myself at times.)
<Casey> In handling back and forth dialogue between characters, remember
too their individual perspectives and their individual reactions.
<Casey> Too often, there is no distinct difference between how one or
another character speaks.
<Casey> Everyone speaks the same. Their tones are the same. Except for
the names, one would not guess they were distinct individuals.
<Casey> Someone's finger is being sliced off and everyone is speaking
calmly.
<Casey> Emotion should drive a character's reactions as much as it
drives our own.
<Casey> If a character is betrayed, angry words are expected.
<Casey> Give me anger.
<Casey> (I'm asking for group participation here.)
<Casey> Examples. . .
<Bookpal> of anger
<Casey> Damn!
<Casey> No!
<Bookpal> All the basic four letter words
<crip> "How can you be so stupid?!!!!"
<Casey> Yes!
<Bookpal> "Stop it."
<Casey> "Leave me alone."
<crip> "Say one more word and you're dead!
<Bookpal> "I'll kill the S.O.B!"
<Casey> "so kill me."
<Bookpal> good one
<Casey> "Shut up."
<Bookpal> You sound sooo calm, Casey. We must not have sounded too
threatening
<crip> although, <and this is not a knock against women> they have this
ability to sound more angry without yelling or screaming that is almost
icy
<Bookpal> true, crip. I have the ability to very quietly do that - or so
I've been told
<Casey> Excellent point, Crip!
<Casey> The most deadly words are usually said chillingly calmly.
<Bookpal> It worked in my former job
<Chipmonk> Dirty Harry.
<Bookpal> I think of that as "beyond anger" which is more dangerous
<crip> oooh good one, chip
<crip> good point, bookpal
<Casey> When a person is screaming and yelling, their emotions are being
vented. When they're not yelling and furiously mad, that is when
they're described as being a bomb ready to go off.
<Bookpal> True - according to my training
<Casey> Those kinds of people one handles extremely delicately.
<Bookpal> If I quietly say the "F" word - everyone clears out.
<Chipmonk> Then there are the kind who just get sarcastic.
<Casey> These are the kinds of things readers know too and will
recognize immediately, again without long, unnecessary author
explanations.
<Bookpal> Especially if the character personality has been set in the
readers mind.
<Casey> Good anger examples.
<Casey> Exactly, Bookpal. If the lead in is handled properly, the
execution can have dramatic impact.
<Casey> When you're reading Gathering, notice Zen's use of silences.
He's a master at their use, as far as I'm concerned, and the effect is
chilling.
<Bookpal> I will
<Casey> But he sets the scenes, and without any author explanations
necessary, the reader "knows" what's going through the character's mind
and knows what there is to lose.
<Casey> Anyhow, in our anger examples, notice how short our expletives
are?
<crip> long anger just sounds wrong in most cases
<Bookpal> true, crip. would not be believable
<Casey> That's because anger is an outburst.
<Casey> It's impulsive.
<Casey> Logic or rationale doesn't have room to enter here.
<Casey> Now let's try something harder. Let's try love.
<Casey> Any brave attempts?
<Bookpal> That is hard - I see love expressed in action more than words.
Kindness, touching, etc
<crip> good point
<Casey> Exactly, Bookpal. I can't stump you guys!
<Bookpal> I find the words hard to believe for some reason
<crip> sounds like bad pick-up lines
<Casey> "Didn't I go to school with your father?"
<Bookpal> true - unless it might be a death bed scene
<Chipmonk> Yeah, well, I.... I, guess I kinda like having you around.
<Bookpal> lol
<Casey> "I love you."
<Bookpal> Right!
<Chipmonk> Yeah, uh, same here.
<Bookpal> Meant "Right!"
<crip> "Kiss me, you fool!"
<Casey> (Sarcasm, bookpal?)
<Bookpal> "Me, too, you."
<Bookpal> Yep
<Chipmonk> "Slurp!"
<Casey> ummmmm.
<Chipmonk> "Here, Mom, I picked these for ya!"
<Casey> ooooooooohhhh!
<Bookpal> See action is better
<crip> *LOL*
<crip> "Your toupee looks especially lovely tonight."
<Casey> Chip has a valid point here, tho.
<Chipmonk> "You ol' coot!"
<Bookpal> Yes, that does say love - Chip
<Chipmonk> I was thinking of how my dog shows she loves me.
<Casey> Consider the ages of the "lovers." Mom and Child. Two old
married folks.
<Bookpal> Yes, it gives you more information
<Casey> Just the different words chip used gives us, the reader, a
different vision of who the speakers are and even a vision of their
actions.
<Casey> Their ages are disclosed. "Here, Mom, . . ."
<Bookpal> Exactly
<crip> picturing two teenages in love compared to older folks is
definitely a different tone
<crip> or of mothers and children
<Casey> Yeah. Heavier breathing, more gropping.
<crip> eww
<Casey> But love expressed in nonsexual ways.
<Casey> a finger tracing the contour of a cheek
<crip> more emotional
<Chipmonk> Oh! Oooo! Get off me, my hip went out of place!
<Casey> lol!
<crip> GROSS!!!!
<Casey> a grin and wink.
<Bookpal> a note in the lunch box
<Chipmonk> Sticking pigtails in the inkwell.
<Casey> Even having to look at Harold's solemn face all week
<Bookpal> Great example, Casey
<Chipmonk> Yes, Casey.
<crip> that just brings up a sad picture
<crip> with that one sentence
<Casey> (His eyes never lie, altho he sure does.)
<Bookpal> Now, mine are filled with tears
<Chipmonk> Yes, that's another part of dialogue, what the character's
mouth says and what their body says.
<Casey> Okay, guys, don't get morose!
<crip> *sniff*
<Bookpal> Just shows your writing talent, Casey
<Chipmonk> Hug Harold for us.
<Bookpal> We appreciate him
<Casey> I did.
<Casey> And I'll tell him.
<Chipmonk> Hey! How about those Cubs!
<Casey> Barely learned about the bombing. Big grrrrrrr. What's with
the Cubs?
<Chipmonk> Crip, that's an example of not saying something.
<crip> good point
<Bookpal> I'm behind in news too - oh, brother, Chip
<Casey> I fell for it!
<Bookpal> She got me, too.
<Casey> Demonstration of the power and impact of a few words.
<Chipmonk> Isn't that the kind of thing a guy would say when the emotion
is too thick to handle?
<Casey> Yes. Totally change subject.
<Bookpal> Not, just guys - I do it
<Casey> All of us do it.
<crip> being a guy i must say usually we just keep quiet
<Chipmonk> Talk about the Cubs?
<Bookpal> Mariners
<Bookpal> crip is right on
<crip> unless its talking to another guy and being extremely
uncomfortable in the situation
<Casey> By remaining silent, don't they rely upon a woman changing the
subject or leading the way through the ticklish social situation?
<crip> too true, casey. good point.
<Chipmonk> What if there's no woman around to do that? What if it's
just guys?
<Casey> I'm interested in your "unless its talking to another guy and
being uncomfortable" remark. Can you elaborate?
<crip> then the above is true. total subject change.
<crip> emotions scare guys. it's their nature.
<Bookpal> They have a commercial to that effect - Hallmark I think
<crip> *L* exactly
<Casey> How do guys comfort other guys over the loss of a child or wife?
Talk about the Cubs or a TV show?
<crip> it's usually a quick "Hey, man, I'm sorry." and that's the end of
it
<Bookpal> Interesting ? for a writer
<Bookpal> Simply said, but can be filled with emotion
<Chipmonk> "Hey. Take a look at my alternator, would ya.
<Casey> Spend the day drinking and taking apart the car?
<Chipmonk> "Hey,wanna go get some beer?"
<crip> that's a great example of how guys deal with heavy emotional
situations : alcohol
<Chipmonk> Yeah, women talk together, men do things together.
<Casey> So closeness and comfort is exchanged by mere physical presence
rather than words.
<Bookpal> good point, Chip and Crip
<crip> see? this is why i'm a traitor to the male community *L*
<Bookpal> I think you are right Casey
<Chipmonk> Yeah, crip and if you don't watch it we'll tell all the other
guys you gave away their secrets!
<crip> they already know that's why i don't have any more male friends
*L*
<Casey> That's a good way. That's how the deepest love is shared. Mere
presence. Between a man and woman, hand holding.
<Casey> Or staring into each others' eyes.
<crip> it's more than any words can say
<Chipmonk> Footsies under the table?
<Casey> Exactly.
<Casey> ooohhhh, yeah!
<Casey> Footsies with the dog.
<Casey> Pre-communication with an infant and toddler.
<Chipmonk> Mutual grooming rituals.
<Casey> Clapping hands, smiling, tickling, laughing together.
<Chipmonk> Yawning and making everyone else yawn.
<crip> great examples
<Casey> snuggling and rocking together.
<Casey> Keep away with small toys.
<Chipmonk> Punching arms, slapping butts.
<crip> pulling hair
<Casey> Are we starting a fight now?
<Chipmonk> Tickling.
<crip> pinching cheeks
<Chipmonk> No, we're still showing affection.
<Bookpal> That sounds like what a grandfather does, crip
<Casey> (crip's pulling hair!)
<crip> i meant with small children
<Chipmonk> Poking.
<Casey> No wonder kids hate you!
<Bookpal> pinching cheeks of kids
<crip> oh hush
<Chipmonk> Stealing noses.
<Casey> good one, Chip.
<Casey> singing songs.
<Chipmonk> Wiping the jelly off the corners of someones mouth.
<crip> smoothing away a stray hair
<Casey> (With your own tongue?? Oh! We're still on children . . .)
<Bookpal> enough examples-all this love stuff is getting me down
<Bookpal> I'm a blood and guts writer
<Casey> Don't your he-men have to show their soft side at some point?
<Bookpal> That's what I tell my Romance Readers
<crip> "she kissed his decapitated head." *L*
<Casey> Good pathology, Crip!
<Bookpal> But, the question is how. I think this was a good point. I
would not have known how to write it - thanks for the tips
<Bookpal> lol, crip
<Casey> How about lying, then.
<Chipmonk> Yeah, crip, when was the last time someone kissed your
decapitated head?
<Casey> How many different ways do we know how to lie?
<crip> way back in the 1800's
<Chipmonk> Ah!
<Bookpal> "You are beautiful."
<Bookpal> "I love you."
<Casey> lol, Bookpal!
<Bookpal> giggle
<crip> "I love how you look, don't change a thing."
<Bookpal> lol
<Chipmonk> "I didn't mean it! It was an accident!"
<Casey> The old, flattery will get me in your pants trick.
<crip> thats another thing. men lie WAY more than women do. women are
harshly truthful.
<Bookpal> "I didn't do it!"
<Chipmonk> You have the most fascinating mind!
<Casey> Not necessarily, in my experience, Crip! Women just lie for
different reasons.
<Bookpal> "Not me!"
<Casey> "That's interesting."
<crip> older women lie because they're cruel. *L*
<Chipmonk> No, crip, we're just better at it, so you don't know we're
lying.
<Bookpal> "It's in the mail."
<crip> that's probably true, chip! *LOL*
<Bookpal> lol
<Casey> We've even perfected the Lies by omission, thing.
<Chipmonk> "That was an excellent point, Johnny, Now ...."
<Bookpal> True point.
<crip> by omission?
<Bookpal> or but.....Chip
<Casey> Lying by not saying certain truths.
<crip> ah
<crip> too true
<Bookpal> Pretending interest when you don't have any
<Casey> "I love you" (and when we're married, I'm doing a major overhaul
job on you.)
<Bookpal> "You knew what I was like when you married me!"
<crip> the 'marrying for the money' scenario
<Chipmonk> Playing hard to get.
<Casey> Lying by misdirection.
<Casey> or by implication.
<Casey> then when caught, "but I never said that!"
<Chipmonk> "I saw Sam come in, then I heard screams, then Sam left.
Then I found Lydia lying on the floor.
<Casey> Technically true . . .
<Casey> exactly, Chip.
<Chipmonk> Not saying that the speaker killed her.
<Casey> but leading one to believe he did.
<Chipmonk> No, saying Sam did it, when he didn't. Implying rather.
<Bookpal> great example
<Chipmonk> "We come in peace!"
<Casey> But what we do here afterwards is another matter.
<Chipmonk> (We stay for other reasons.)
<Casey> "Gail did it!"
<Casey> (Gail was never there.)
<Casey> Or the really old trick of blaming someone who's dead.
<crip> "No one ever found the body."
<Chipmonk> "Well, now, I'm not the sort to say anything bad about
someone, but, that boy, bless his heart."
<Bookpal> good, chip
<Bookpal> There's that but again -
<Casey> and her choice of words creates the vision of an older man or
woman
<Chipmonk> I heard a comedian say "bless his heart" is how southern
ladies imply bad things about people.
<Casey> It's sort of like, God have mercy on his bad soul.
<Bookpal> Excellent! It's true - I've heard it done
<crip> really? Boy, I'm really in trouble. *L*
<Casey> bless having the religious connotations of need for forgiveness
<Bookpal> Fits
<Chipmonk> Or, I doubt if it's true, but did you hear the rumor about...
<crip> gossip. the foundation of women everywhere.
<Casey> rumors are great! You can slip in any kind of info making it
into a rumor!
<Bookpal> Always a hidden agenda with gossip
<Bookpal> How you say it - who you say it to
<Chipmonk> "An anonymous source, reported that...
<Casey> Or, your new purse is beautiful, but you should see the one
Dad's getting me for my birthday . . .
<Bookpal> Casey - that would make a good red-herring. The reader won't
know to believe or not
<Bookpal> the rumor idea
<crip> exactly, bookpal. making them want to read on
<Casey> Exactly.
<Casey> Unless a certain character is an habitual liar, and finally does
uncover a truth and now cannot get anyone to believe him/her.
<Bookpal> yes, crying wolf hasn't been used too often lately
<Chipmonk> Anybody ever read the Rod Serling story about "The
Monsters...on Elm Street" Don't remember exact title.
<Casey> Exactly. And what's old becomes new.
<crip> what's it about, chip?
<Casey> No, can't recall that one.
<Bookpal> Neither can I.
<Chipmonk> There are reports that there are alien invaders disguised as
humans and rumors are spread and everyone starts accusing everyone.
<Chipmonk> Then they start killing each other.
<Chipmonk> And it was the monsters who started the rumors.
<crip> ooooooh sounds good
<Casey> That's a twist!
<Casey> Until that end, the storyline is similar to the Puppet Masters
<Chipmonk> It was about McCarthyism I think.
<crip> i read a similar story except there were these two people who
were at this costume party when they heard H.G. Wells War of the Worlds
and thinking it was true, killed everyone and fled thinking their
invasion had begun.
<Bookpal> Proves it works
<crip> Paranoia is a great tool.
<Bookpal> Yes, it can be catching.
<Chipmonk> "It's nothing to worry about."
<Bookpal> Boy, that would start someone worrying.
<Casey> Yes, Chip! Belittling! Excellent evasion of truth.
<Casey> "Oh, everything's fine."
<Casey> "he's fine."
<Casey> We're fine.
<Casey> Next week our divorce will be final.
<Bookpal> That's my favorite line - the Doc says "How are you?" and I
say "fine" like an idiot.
<crip> it's all about fear of doctors. the one thing i learned in the
one class i bothered to go to in college.
<Casey> More complicated than that sometimes.
<Bookpal> It's like I'm sick enough to be there, but don't do anything
just let me go
<Chipmonk> I think we just say it out of habit.
<crip> dentists too
<Bookpal> yep
<crip> true
<Casey> In greatly dysfunctional families, children learn not to make
waves, not to draw attention to themselves. They gain acceptance by
never having private needs or creating additional stress in the family.
<Casey> So they deny they have needs and are always fine.
<Chipmonk> No, to the dentist you say, "Mwyme fwyime."
<crip> *L*
<Bookpal> It's the emotional thing again. What would happen if you laid
it on someone who asked? lol
<crip> just start screaming *LIAR! LIAR! PANTS ON FIRE!"
<Bookpal> Great point, Casey
<Bookpal> Adults can learn that response for the same reason, Casey.
<Bookpal> Co-dependents?
<Bookpal> Or a care-giver personality maybe?
<crip> it's like the standard to not have an emotional response during
standard questioning.
<Bookpal> Is this the same in other countries?
<Chipmonk> It's just like saying hello. Hi how are you? I'm fine. How
are you? Fine. How bout those Cubs.
<Bookpal> You've got it.
<Casey> Human nature is so universal, that it's hard to believe that
reaction-responses aren't the same given similar circumstances and
stresses.
<Bookpal> But what would happen if the sales clerk said that and you
lost it - telling all your problems, etc.
<Bookpal> How would the clerk react?
<Casey> Some people actually do see "How are you?" as an opportunity to
unload.
<crip> they'd probably call the cops
<Casey> I've sat beside one too many of them.
<Bookpal> Me, too Casey. Even at the library - sometimes I feel like the
bartender you hear about.
<Casey> But because of our own reactions to those types of people,
usually we refrain from doing something similar to others. Hence, the
"Fine" response.
<Casey> Or, we use it to tell the latest exciting happening.
<Bookpal> That's why dialogue can't be realism
<Chipmonk> I've tried saying something besides "How are you?" back to
people and they still say "Fine."
<Bookpal> Can it be a "I don't want to talk about it" response?
<Casey> Laugh, Chip! They're programmed to hear "How are you" whether
it's said or not.
<crip> just a standard reaction programmed in your mind
<Bookpal> lol
<Bookpal> Man, we need to change!
<Casey> Or, it shows how little we actually listen to people.
<Casey> I rattle people by actually listening to what they say when
they're angry and yelling.
<Bookpal> I say "Thanks for asking" a lot of the time.
<Chipmonk> When you're writing it's important to know those standard
responses and sometimes divert from them to show an unusual situation.
<crip> "How's your decapitated husband?"
<crip> "Fine."
<Bookpal> lol
<Chipmonk> Yup!
<Casey> Lol, at Crip's test of who's listening!
<Bookpal> Sometimes I say something so off the wall - and most of the
time it goes right by.
<Casey> Or crucial to write effective humor, as Crip has demonstrated so
wonderfully.
<Bookpal> Yes, he did.
<Chipmonk> Yup!
<Bookpal> This must be why the old stand-up comedy partners were so
successful.
<Chipmonk> I've always enjoyed George Carlin when he talks about stupid
things we say, Gallagher too.
<Bookpal> Carlin is so funny because he speaks the truth. :-)
<Bookpal> Phyliss Diller used "bigger-than-life" in her routine about a
husband. It worked and works in fiction.
<Chipmonk> I always felt sorry for Fang.
<Bookpal> I remember her telling about burying ironing in the back yard
- never looked at the ironing basket the same again.
<Casey> You are into a field I know very little about now.
<Bookpal> Too young Casey.
<Bookpal> She took the truth and exagerrated(sp?) and it was funny.
<Casey> No, not too young. I grew up with Skelton, Diller, etc., loved
them, but I don't understand the tricks of the humor trade.
<Chipmonk> No, I like questions like, if it's a building when your
working on it, when you finish it why isn't it called a built.
<Bookpal> Oh
<Bookpal> lol, Chip
<crip> *L*
<Chipmonk> That's a Gallagher line.
<Chipmonk> Like his one on spelling and pronunciation too.
<Bookpal> Here's one for you Chip: "If you are an American when you go
into the restroom and an American when you come out what are you while
you are in the restroom?"
<Casey> urinating?
<Bookpal> Close - European
<Casey> just different word! (boooooo!)
<Bookpal> A five year old told me that one.
<Chipmonk> Good one!
<Casey> (And I still laughed. I'm a sick person.)
<crip> ah
<Casey> What did the deer say who came out of the woods?
<Casey> Whew! I'll never do that again for 2 bucks!
<Bookpal> rofl
<crip> oh my god...
<crip> the meds have kicked in!!!!!
<Casey> I LOVE words with double meanings.
<Chipmonk> For shame!
<crip> whats the difference between the spice girls and a porno?
<crip> the porno has better music
<Bookpal> I had to watch their video this week - I thought I'd die
<crip> it is painful
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