DC and Avery discuss whether "said is dead" or "said is invisible", the use of outlandish dialogue tags, and how action beats can break up repetitive dialogue. Featuring an excerpt from one of Avery's very oldest writing samples.----more----
Books mentioned in this episode:
- A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
----more----
Drinks for this episode:
Both of the cocktails this week highlight Interrobang brand vermouth. The Interrobang (‽) is a punctuation symbol that combines an exclamation point and question mark, appropriate for a discussion of dialogue tags.
“The Nod” Cocktail----more----Excerpt (Before Edits):
Now that they were all there, she showed Eric and Austin the riddle.
"Time!" Austin declared the answer proudly, his green eyes flashing as he picked up the now-abandoned remote with a triumphant expression and switched to Comedy Central.
Suddenly Cass felt stupid. She should have figured it out.
"But now what?" Tara asked.
"Well, we find time," Eric laughed shyly.
"But we’ve gotta hurry or we’ll run out of time!" Austin joked back.
"Oh, shut up you guys," Cass said playfully.
"A clock?" Tara suggested.
"But which one?" Austin asked.
"The main clock tower. In the old section of town." Michael suggested. "It's sort of the clock, you know?"
"But it's shut down," Tara cautioned.
"All the more fun." Michael flashed even, white teeth. His dark eyes grew mysterious suddenly. "It'll be an adventure. Come on."
Cass suggested they check the clocks in the house first. They found nothing.
"I guess it's the tower then," Cass sighed, feeling very apprehensive. It was growing dark.
"We'll take my van," Austin suggested.
Excerpt (After Edits):
When everyone arrived, she showed Eric and Austin the riddle.
"Time!" Austin declared the answer proudly, picking up the now-abandoned remote, and switched to Comedy Central.
Cass felt stupid. She should have figured it out.
"But now what?" Tara said.
"Well, we find time." Eric laughed so hard, a booger flew out of his nose.
"But we’ve gotta hurry or we’ll run out of time!" Austin said.
Cass rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, shut up, you guys."
"A clock?" Tara suggested. "But which one?"
"The main clock tower. In the old section of town," Michael said. He took out his comb and brushed a tangle out of his hair. "It's sort of the clock, you know?"
"But it's shut down," Tara said.
Michael flashed his even, white teeth, and his dark eyes grew mysterious. "All the more fun. It'll be an adventure. Come on."
They checked the clocks in the house first and found nothing.
Impatiently, after looking for hours, Cass threw a box of glass at a window, and it shattered. "Well I guess it's the tower then," Cass groaned, looking out the broken window. It was growing dark.
"We'll take my van," Austin said.
Ep131: On Aspec Characters, with Harvey Oliver Baxter
Ep130: The Miscommunication Trope
Ep129: Fiona Fenn on Fanfiction
Ep128: Writing Love Triangles and Other Polygons
Ep127: Jenny Adams on Pivoting Genres
Ep126: T.L. Simpson, author of Strong Like You
Ep125: Jaq Evans on Juggling Projects
Ep124: Self-publishing While Parenting, with Brigitta Estelle Burguess!
Ep123 (Mini-Ep): Getting Motivated
Ep122 (Mini-Ep): Navigating Reader Interactions
Ep121(Mini-Ep): Connecting the Dots of Subplots
Ep120 (Mini-Ep): Insecurities and Professional Jealousy
Ep119: The Journey to The Longest Autumn
Ep118: Multiple Timelines and Flashbacks
Ep117: Updates for 2024, plus Purple Prose Revisited!
Ep116: Brief Status Update and December Hiatus
Ep115 (Mini-Ep): Beefing Up Side Characters
Ep114: The Core of Your Story
Ep113 (Mini-Ep) The Murky Middle
Ep112 (Mini-Ep): Epigraphs
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