Pittsburgh Flash Fiction Gazette

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Dialogue can make or break your fiction.  You better believe it.  Hello, readers and writers!  Now what can the Old Soldier say that will help you write dialogue?

Well, first off, you don’t want to tell the reader how a character says a piece of dialogue.  You have to write the dialogue in such a way that the words and the order of the words will tip-off the reader to how the dialogue is spoken.  One way you can do this is by using repetition.

Let’s see?  What other advice about writing dialogue can I give you?

Oh, yeah.  Dialogue is not just talk.  Good dialogue moves the story efficiently toward resolution by giving the reader needed information so that what is really going on becomes increasingly clearer.

Want an example?  Here’s an old story of mine.  Keep reading and keep writing that “flash fiction.”

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Phone Sex

She said, What’s your name?

Harry.

Harry, do you have a last name?

I’m not going to tell you my last name.  What are you doing?  What are you wearing?

I’m relaxing on the sofa, Harry, in a sheer, long black nightie.

I like that.

What else do you like, Harry?

Oh, you know.  The usual.

Anal?  Oral?  Around the world?  A little golden shower?

No golden shower.  Can I see you?

You know where to find me, Harry.

I’ll be right there.

In a moment a man entered the living room and sat down beside the woman.  He wore a bathrobe. He sat down beside her and they put their arms around each other and kissed.

After the kiss he leaned back and said, You’re the best wife a man ever had.

The End

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If you are a writer, send me something.  I publish romance, erotic, literary and mainstream short stories.  Click on the Submissions tab at the top of the page for the guidelines. 

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