Don and Annie: Conversations on Fiction Techniques

Don McQuinn and I have been talking about fiction technique since before email.
We persist in using methods from the last century: lunch or dinner at a local watering hole or in each other’s backyard.

On Structure

• Arcs – like the Greek Guy Says — starting the conversation on rising conflict and resolution.

On Dialog

• Jim Rollins Interview – Dialogue  — Don interviews Jim Rollins on dialogue and dialect, with additional thoughts from Don.
• Annie’s followup: Dialect in Dialog – doing right by the reader –Pondering issues for dialect in historical fiction
• Writing of Speaking — Don’s view: “What’s particularly damaging is the forced marriage of narrative and dialogue.”
• Don and Annie Hit the Mark — Establishing character and locale with Dialog
• Can We Talk? — Don says: “to keep a reader interested in your characters you need dialog exchanges”… but dialog should contribute to every aspect of your work.

Interviews

• “Why Accidental Heretics?” An Interview with Emily Warn and E.A. Stewart
  (I write medieval adventure under the name E.A. Stewart)