: Re: Thinking as a character Months after starting my first novel (which hasn't made any progress and is still in its first draft) I feel I can only react to a given situation rather than create

@Turnbaugh521

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I think the problem with dialogue is often that people try to make it sound like real conversation when that isn't the purpose at all. The purpose of dialogue in a novel is to convey a point, but using a character to do so, instead of just telling the fact.

Don't worry too much about what the character is saying, initially just get their point across, even if it is without dialogue. So maybe in your first draft simply have

Bob told everyone he was going to the shop for a turnip.

then as you learn more about your character you will get a better feel for how he would say that line. So your second draft might replace it with

"Hey everyone, I'm all out of turnips here! I gotta go shop..."

Don't get too hung up with stuff that is to do with getting to know your characters, you will get to know them as the story progresses. At the end of your first draft you will be able to go back and get a much better feel for what they are going to say.

Don't aim for perfect on the first draft. (Or the second, third, forth or fifth for that matter) Just know the second (third, forth,fifth) will be a vast improvement.

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