While writing my first novel in 2005, I remember being scared to write dialogue. Imagine that--a world-class talker afraid to give her characters something to say. My early attempts were weak until I read a book by Gloria Kempton called Dialogue: Techniques and exercise for crafting effective dialogue.
I tried lots of the exercises in the book. You could say I read the thing like an evangelist reads his Bible. In a short period of time, my dialogue improved--a lot. Okay, there was lots of upside opportunity. However, I know my dialogue has become one of the strongest elements of my fiction writing. In the 2008 NWA Novel Contest (I placed fifth), receiving perfect marks from both judges in dialogue, and not just because I love to put words in people's mouths.
One of the most useful tools in the book, besides both good and bad examples, was using the enneagram to help identify and differentiate characters. Once you've assigned them an enneagram designation, you have a really clear idea of what sorts of things should be coming out of their mouths and why. More on the enneagram later this week.
I used Gloria's book as a springboard to embrace a weakness and turn it around into a strength. What craft books have you used to help address your writing weaknesses?
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