Free Dialogue by Gloria Kempton Page A

Lena's hand in hers. "That's what I mean about being brave."
    Why does this dialogue work and why would we call it uncensored? Because teens just say what's on their minds. As many times as I've been "in love" in my adult life, when the issue of expressing that to the other person comes up, I have never, would never, say right out loud to a friend, "What if he doesn't like me back?" I might think it. I might feel it. But I'd never be so bold to say it to anyone. I barely want to admit it to myself. And teens are always calling each other out on their "stuff," while adults do their best to be nice. "You are too much of a chicken to do anything about it but mope." When's the last time you called a friend out on her stuff? Writing uncen-sored dialogue can be freeing. We can just write what comes into these characters' minds because most often they blurt out what's in their minds. To write uncensored dialogue is to write the truth, and for the writer, that feels good. You can just relax and write.
    Writing category-specific dialogue is not quite this cut and dried. On occasion, the different types of dialogue overlap and cross over from genre to genre. A character in a horror story, for example, may suddenly use descriptive language as he reveals something about another character. In Anne Rice's novels you find both shadowy and descriptive dialogue, and possibly provocative, because she writes mainstream horror. So, just like anything else, we can't and shouldn't try to make our dialogue fit rigid formulas. But I can't overestimate the importance of understanding why your reader might pick up your novel in the first place—because she wants a fast and suspenseful read or a contemplative and thought-provoking story. Delivering dialogue that meets this need is your constant challenge.
    Your story's genre will, of course, determine the kind of dialogue you write. This should be one of the first decisions you make after beginning to develop your story idea. You don't want to get too far into the story writing the wrong kind of dialogue for the pace or the characters that have already been determined by the genre.
    In the next chapter, we'll look at how to use dialogue to keep the story moving forward so the reader is compelled to turn the pages faster and faster.
    Magical. Choose your genre—romance, science fiction, or fantasy—and put two characters, male and female, in a garden. If you've never written a love scene before, hang onto your hat. Well, not too tightly. If it wants to blow away on the magical breezes of your garden scene, let it. Now, we know that a lot of couples don't talk to each other while making love, but your characters do. They say the most amazing words to each other, amazing even to them. Write three pages (or as many as you can stand) of magical dialogue, words you wish you had the courage to say to your own lover or would like him or her to say back to you. The goal is to be authentic, so no corny lines allowed. Remember how magical dialogue feels and sounds in our examples: It's dramatic, formal, eloquent, direct, detailed, metaphorical, and emotional.
    Cryptic. A group of characters—four or five individuals in the same family—are discussing another family member who's not present. Someone from outside the family has accused this person of sexual abuse. There is a bigger issue here for the viewpoint character. You decide what it is, and then write five pages of a cryptic dialogue scene that doesn't ever come right out and say what it is they're discussing. You can use metaphors, similes, and hyperbole. They talk about the bigger issue, they talk about their love for their family member, but they don't ever really say what he's been accused of and what it means for the family. Keep in mind that cryptic dialogue is indirect, subtle, and ambiguous; it has more than one meaning.
    Descriptive. Two female characters, one a real estate agent and one who's selling her home, are walking through the older