Don’t Speak

This week, I’m posting a short little video on the topic of dialogue in prose and how big a fan I am of dialogue not being there. Of course — as I say, if I remember right, in the video — writers are urged to include and even rely on characters to show up a lot in novels (mostly) to keep the story moving merrily along. But I also think you can make beautiful music without ever lifting a bow and putting it down on the violin and I hope this video will encourage anyone thinking about writing something without dialogue to take the leap. It is, after all, a lyrical leap, since the interior sensibility then will be doing the work of pushing the narrative forward and not so much the talking sensibility.

I also hope I come across okay in this — basically — off the top of my head little visual message. The hair looks good, I think, but I’m not sure about what I say or how I’ve said it. I’m not an actor and while I am a good reader of my own work, I’m not certain I am, media hot. So, please, If you want to see another one of these freewheelings, do post a comment and I will be more than happy to oblige. I’ll even sit in a different chair, in a different room, with a different shirt on. In other words, I liked the experience.