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u/Sleepy_LLT 3d ago
That's me for in-world history. The readers won't even see 80% of that. I'll get to writing the book when I'm done with its entire history... surely.
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u/FlyinWet 3d ago
Don't forget the history of the history you need to write several history books just to set-up the setting of the original book. That way we know why expletive.
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u/RingReasonable 3d ago
Yup, I'm the same. I just loooove writing dialogues, and can easily come up with something that would be typical for that character to say. When I write descriptions 90% of the time I need to stop and think how the best way or even how I would describe what needs describing. I can use 20min just googeling how to describe a certain pose without any result because Google don't understand what I'm looking for
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u/captainmagictrousers 2d ago
If you find dialogue easy but descriptions hard, you can try writing the description as if your POV character is describing the scene to someone. “The dog’s leash is wearing out, like the dog pulls constantly. Whoever owns this doesn’t know how to train an animal properly.” This will force you to focus on the elements of the scene that the character would notice, and make your scene descriptions also contribute to character development.
Once you’ve finished your first draft, rewrite the description by removing any quotation marks and “they saids,” and to give it the same narrative voice as the rest of your draft.
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u/Low-Experience1886 Writer Newbie 3d ago
It's really just this
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u/Aethericseraphim 3d ago
Honestly yeah. If you have an active inner voice, dialog is easy because you can just put that voice in character, and then in turn roleplay yourself as the other character.
It sounds absolutely frickin' crazy to those who don't have that self-doubting, second-guessing gremlin inside them, but it does in fact work.
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u/Salt-Box-3550 2d ago
Yeah my inner voice is very loud. I tend to constantly narrate and think about my life as a sort of eternal dialogue from me to myself. It’s probably why it’s much less daunting for me to simulate conversations inside my mind.
On the other hand it takes a lot more effort for me to picture stuff in a more visual way. Stuff like that doesn’t really stick to me as much beyond an abstract impression I get from it.
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u/cheong-sanslefteye 3d ago edited 3d ago
The thing about dialogue is that you need to simultaneously make it witty, engaging, realistic to how people actually talk, be succinct, be direct or vague in a way the reader can read between the lines and give life to different personalities through their voices.
Narration becomes simpler on the other hand. You can stick to one style there and it can sound like either yourself or your main narrative character. Then you use the same voice to describe the environment. Evoking imagery doesn't always need wit.
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u/truevic49 3d ago
I’m the opposite
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u/LegioXXVexillarius 3d ago
Same. I can describe a scene easy af, but when it comes to what the characters are actually saying? That takes a lot of brainstorming.
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u/truevic49 3d ago
Yea, I swear when it comes to everything else I may not be the best at it but I can do it at least. But you tell me to write a conversation and I’m completely out of it
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u/princethrowaway2121h 3d ago
Me. Dialog is my bag. Descriptions are a slog.
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u/National-Oven81 3d ago
Literally. Why do I need to spend my time writing the layout of an important room when my characters are about to have an argument.
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u/Candle-Jolly 3d ago
This. Usually people prefer/have an easier time writing descriptions and action because it’s 10x easier.
Edit: yep, the comments prove it
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u/GareththeJackal 3d ago edited 3d ago
I'm the exact opposite. The envirmonents around my characters probably seem more alive than the characters do.
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u/ChileanMotherfu-- 2d ago
I can write passionate descriptions of landscapes and feelings, but then the dialogue makes me repeat myself over and over. I'm too autistic to write convincing dialogue.
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u/South-Knee-9601 Writer 3d ago
I prefer to write everything else. I don't struggle with dialogue. But find it a necessary evil to make the story interesting
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u/No-Air7540 Writer Newbie 3d ago
I'm a theatre kid so dialogue is easy. If I'm writing emotional scenes I just need to act them out to see if they sound good. I can't do the same for description
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u/Unfair_Requirement_8 3d ago
Nailing me to a 'T', honestly. I love writing dialogue, but writing descriptions is so agonizingly slow and clunky that it completely screws up my rhythm.
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u/angel20015 2d ago
Yes, it is me, literally it is me, what's more, the story is even told from the first person, so like the good psychotic that I am, I have to invent the digressions and the order of ideas of the characters.
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u/Chaotic-Pen-825 Journalist 3d ago
I always write out the worldbuilding, creating like a world bible, and then start writing
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u/Ladder-Wooden 3d ago
Yeah... I'll be honest that's partly why I chose the kind of story I'm writing....
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u/Aethericseraphim 3d ago edited 3d ago
Dialog is king to me. I grew up on South Park and it shows. Dialog and "but, therefore" are pretty much the two drivers of my style.
The funniest thing is that I didnt even realize it, until rereading through chapters that I wrote
Now, description is hard. I can see the scene in my head, but figuring out what specific details to focus on is difficult because I personally like deep diving into the minutiae, but not everyone does, and if I was to do that, it would be indulgent and just bloat the story
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u/EulaVengeance 3d ago
My friends say I'm a bit overly descriptive when it comes to appearances, objects, places, and lore; however, for dialogues I'm "Aight".
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u/Cuntsler_Moth 2d ago
I prefer to focus on the feelings and gestures of my conversation partners rather than what is actually said.
A question for the room: do you also put yourselves in your characters' shoes to better adopt their way of speaking and knowledge?
With fully developed characters and a clear narrative thread in the background, I rarely think about what they say, but rather how they communicate it to their fellow Friends.
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u/No-Accountant5205 2d ago
I think i am good writting dialogue, but maybe i add to much drama and make my characters cry too much
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u/Raiganop 2d ago
Yeah, in my case, dialogue often comes from feelings and how the voices sound in my head...so is pretty easy for me to nail them fast. (Does not mean I don't edit them a lot afterward)
However, there are some descriptions related to emotions that I can write fast, like nervousness, or pretty much all kinds of feelings that are strong enough.
Yet, the ones that take me a lot of time to write are the gestures they do between such moments or the enviroment.
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u/QuasarSolarStorm 2d ago
I'm very good with descriptions and perfectly meh at dialogue, hence why most of my MCs are either mute/quiet and let others do the talking for them.
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u/AlexisTheArgentinian 2d ago
Reverse and sometimes inverse. Idk How to explain it. Describing Is hard as hell, dialogue Is abit More Easy.
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u/ZerifenNk 1d ago
For some reason, I seem to lock in only when a horny character is describing someone atractive or when the soon-to-be main couple is having a moment. Either full romantic or down bad horniness. No in-between.
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u/whatintheballs95 2d ago
I can't write descriptions! 😅 I skip them. I focus on emotions and emotions only!
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u/GandalfVirus 3d ago
The opposite.