Dialogue is the Bomb

Writers who advise other writers say make your dialogue realistic. Every person doesn't talk the same, so your characters shouldn't either. Boy, that gets challenging.

I've worked to give my characters different voices. When the people who live in a certain area speak, they speak simply and use slang and bad grammar. When my characters who are educated and professional people speak, they use less slang and more proper language.

Now I'm returning to the manuscript to do some layering. I'm giving one character a slang-word: Dadgum. I'm giving the main character the ability to sing and play music very well. The antagonist loves to hear him play and sing and has a favorite song he requests. I had to do a little research to find good guitar songs. That was fun. I heard songs I've never heard before.

Editing is hard work. I have so much to do before this book is done. Lord help this writer!