Last week, I was supposed to work on the plot. Instead, I went too much into the character again. My new character is interesting to me, as well: I plan to use her as a sacrifice or martyr. Someone has to die. I can’t wait until she does, because once she dies some one else can take her place. It’s like the changing face of Doctor Who. The sacrifice is necessary. The plot may end up a bit science-fiction-like, somewhere between Contact and Mr. Y, with some supernatural (unknown powers) implications. The people really close to the woman would understand her sacrifice, it was her wish or dream since she was a child. She leaves this earth sort of like a 21st century Blessed Virgin. Keep tuned! This still won’t be my NaNoMo… I think I save my ravens for that.
This week, we need to work on Dialogue! Essays don’t have dialogue. Plays do. Good stories do. People usually talk to each other. You can find out a lot about a person by talking to them.
For example, I found out, that I still have a problem with trying to guess where people are from. This woman I was talking to, her husband sounded more Danish than she, and she sounded more German than he! Unfortunately, he was German, and she was Danish. Go figure. Their English was American, and her German was more North than South, while his German sounded more like an British native speaker. They were both completely fluent, but with some idiosyncrasies that I never heard of. The best way to convey this is, should be in our dialogue:
“So, how long have you been in Switzerland?” said the bright cheery girl. Katie, young and enthusiastic, was trying to jump start the conversation.
Heike sighed. “Almost 20 years, our two sons have grown up here,” she turned to her husband, Daniel. “We just got back from China, visiting one of them.”
Sensing the jet lag in Heike’s voice, Katie nodded and felt like she understood why the couple were so quiet. “We’ve been in Switzerland now 7 years, 3 years in Basel, and it’s been quite good to us. We like Basel better than Zurich where we lived before, don’t we?” Katie smiled at her fiancé Jimmy. “Basel seems more international as well,” Katie continued. “I am not so sure why, but it does, perhaps there are more international companies here, where Zurich is more financial and Swiss?”
“Well, it might be because there are less Germans in Basel,” Heike offered.
“Oh, that’s possible! There are a lot of Germans in Zurich! Have you been? It’s a bit too trendy for my taste and though it’s good for the under 40 crowd, it’s not exactly the place that I could stay for a long time, Basel feels more like home to me.” Katie replied. “Are you from Germany? Your accent is very German,” suggested Katie.
“What?!?” dumbfounded, Heike stared at Katie, as if the girl was an idiot. Daniel chirped in for his speechless wife, “No no no! She is Danish!” Daniel smiled, touching Heike, “I think the proper answer, dear, is “I beg your pardon?””
Katie flushed and floundered in embarrassment. “Ah, I’m sorry, but oh, I’m sorry!”
“Daniel’s the German, I am from Denmark!” said Heike, regaining her composure. “I do not sound German at all!”
Feeling like she mortally offended the couple, Katie turned away and tried to start a conversation with the Scottish couple across from Jimmy instead. “So, how long have you been in Switzerland?”
***
or something like that. Is it cheap action? You betcha! Ugh, that was hard. Next week, it’s back to monologue and essays!!
