Quotation tips from “A Writer’s Coach”
"Of all the devices that can add humanity to your writing, the direct quotation is the most overused," according to Jack Hart, author of A Writer’s Coach: An Editor’s Guide to Words That Work.
In his book he cites four questions that reporter Isabel Wilkerson asks herself:
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Does the quote move the story along? Is it an integral part of the story? What happens to the story if you take it out? Does it fit seamlessly into the story?
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Does it focus, sharpen, and strengthen the section of the story it is in, or merely repeat something?
* Does it say it better than the reporter can paraphrase it?
* Does it provide facts and facts alone? If so, paraphrase. Critical information should not be conveyed in quotes.
This makes me think I use quotes too liberally in my magazine stories.
I think these questions could also apply to dialogue in fiction. Do you agree?
I also want to consider Hart’s "Five Ways to Make Your Writing More Colorful."
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"Get in touch with yourself. Pay close attention to how you feel when you enter a room, meet a person, or watch an event. then work back to the specific details–sights, sounds, smells, tastes–that produced your most emotional response. Jot them down. then pass the most powerful along to readers in a description of what you experienced."
2. "Pick three. Describe characters by using the three details that most typify them…."
3. "Work backward. Think about the central point–the theme statement–of something you’re about to write. then ask yourself what specific details would serve as good evidence for that assertion…."
4. "Play the simile game. Train your figurative ear…. Point to a random object and create a comparison. ‘That fireplug looks like a second-grade crossing guard.’ ‘That streaked concrete looks like the winner’s shirt at a watermelon eating contest.’ "
5. "Count for color. Metaphors, similes, and other figurative devices work best when you measure them out carefully…."
I like direct quotes in articles and dialogue in fiction but yes you need to be careful not to overuse. There’s little more tiresome in fiction than useless dialogue that goes nowhere or that takes too long to get to where its going. So those are important questions to ask, thanks for sharing them.
Comment by Crafty Green Poet — January 28, 2007 @ 2:49 pm