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Voices in Your Head

by: Mike Foley

Are you struggling with your story�s dialogue? If so, you�re not alone. Dialogue is tough for many writers. Fortunately, by learning to listen, you can make your fictional dialogue much stronger. So let�s begin by looking at a quick dialogue exchange, from a short story I�ve been working on.

Her eyes finally met mine. �This isn�t right, Neil. You felt it out there. I know it.�
I nodded. �But it�s free floating. It doesn�t cling to the water and it really isn�t a part of the tank. And there�s no body. A spirit just circles the site.�
�A broken circle,� she said gravely. �Pieces missing�death. Someone died out there.�
�So you�re saying this is a murder?�
�Maybe. Don�t know. No body. But the evil...the dark spirit. It�s still there.�
I had learned over the years that Kathy might be wrong about events and timing, but rarely about feelings. To her, the evil we felt meant death.
�Look,� I told her. �We�ll never know what happened out there. I say we just send the spirit away and go home.�
She shook her head. �It won�t leave�not now, anyway. Isn�t settled��

Although you�re coming into the story somewhere in the middle, without really knowing the characters, you still get a �feel� for each of them simply by reading this short passage of dialogue. One character is more analytical, trying to make sense of what they�ve seen. The other relies mostly on feeling and instinct, taking a more direct approach to the situation. Two distinct individuals.

But the question is, �How do we know this?� Certainly there�s a bit of narrative here, but not much. Most of what we know we learn from the spoken words. And I�m not talking about the information here. Instead, I�m referring to way these characters speak. For example, notice how the analytical character speaks in complete sentences, in larger concepts. The woman, on the other hand, speaks in short bursts, using clipped sentences and fragments. Each of these speech patterns relates directly to the characters and who they are.

People are unique in their physical characteristics, the way they dress, and how they view the world. We use these things to paint portraits of people in fiction and nonfiction. But it�s important to remember that people also speak in unique ways. And those speech patterns tell readers just as much about that person as anything else you write. In fact, a unique method of speech often creates a deeper portrait. The readers actually hear the person, as well as seeing your visual description. And that can be a powerful tool.

To achieve this, start listening to the way people speak, paying particular attention to some of the following aspects of speech.

1. Wordiness�Some people will use many words, in many long sentences. Others (like our character above) may speak in short bursts and fragments. This can tell readers a lot about the character�s approach to life. It may even hint at some sort of agenda. Wordiness, for example, may be tool for evasion, helping the person avoid answering a question.

2. Tempo�People speak slowly or at high speed and again, that�s a clue to who they are and how they live their lives. Listen to tempo in speech. Listen for pauses, especially those that might stem from caution or lack of an answer. The rate at which a person offers words can be a great character-building tool.

3. Slang�People and characters will often use slang, helping readers determine their age, economic background, ethnicity, and career. Remember that a simple slang word speaks volumes about a person. Make sure it�s telling readers what you want them to know.

4. Vocal Habits�One person may always clear his/her throat before speaking. Another may overuse a certain word or phrase. Another might be liberal with short sounds, like �uh.� Each of these identifies the person for readers and when they see him/her again, they�re able to immediately grasp that unique character. And that helps keep the story moving.

One very helpful exercise for developing dialogue is to use your friends, relatives and acquaintances. Take a line of dialogue from a short story or a quote from a nonfiction article you�re working on. Then imagine each of your friends saying that line. How would your best friend say it? Your mother? Your boss? You should be able to hear differences just by imagining how others would tackle a particular line of dialogue.

Once you have that firmly in your mind, practicing writing it so that it sounds different to readers with each new speaker. You�ll soon find your dialogue skills (and your ear for speech) improving.

Best of luck with all your writing.

About The Author

Mike Foley is editor of Dream Merchant Magazine and author of more than 700 published stories and articles. He also teaches fiction and nonfiction writing in the extension program at UC-Riverside. Since 1986, Mike has operated the Writer�s Review critique/editing service, helping hundreds of aspiring writers improve their fiction and nonfiction projects.
For information on Mike�s critique or coaching services, visit his website: http://www.writers-review.com/
mike@writers-review.com

This article was posted on August 18, 2005

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More Article Pages 1 - 2

Writing The Perfect Sales Letter
by: David Hennebery

Before you actually write the e-book we are going to write the sales letter first. Now I suggest you write it in Microsoft Word and save it. Then we can transfer it to the main �Sales site Page� when we are designing our basic site in step 5

The main reason we are writing our sales copy before we ever write a word in our e-Book is because it hasn�t actually being created yet, which means there is absolutely no limit what you can write in your sales letter. The sales letter doesn�t fit the e-Book; it�s the other way around.

Now you can describe exactly what your e-Book will show to the potential customer. There are no restrictions on what you can write in the sales letter. When the sales letter is completed you can then incorporate all the ideas you have come up with into your e-Book

Your sales copy must do the following three things

� Get the attention of the prospects
� Communicate the benefits of the product
� Persuade the prospects into the desired action

Remember the most important part of your page design is your actual sales copy. A fancy website and graphics help but the key is in the words used

Sales letter Structure

� Header/Title
� Promises
� Testimonial
� Info product
� Benefit
� Bonuses
� Guarantee
� Summary

This is the structure that you should use for your sales copy. If you check out the best sales letter they will all follow this formula?

Header

The main function of the header/title is to grab the reader�s attention. The header should be displayed in a large, bold font. This demands your potential customer�s attention and intrigues them to read further on. Include your logo or e-Book cover (discussed later on) close to the header. If you header is not well designed you run the risk of losing the potential customer straight away. Spend time creating your header.

A Promise

This section promises the potential customer a huge benefit which is almost too good to be true. It�s ok if it�s a bit too unbelievable the testimonials will take care of that. Here is an example of such a headline

Discover how my 5 step affiliate programme can increase your income by 10,000 a month

Testimonials

In this section you include testimonials that old/new customers have sent you about your product or service. You probably don�t have any customers yet so email some potential ones your e-book for free in exchange for a testimonial. When you do start selling you can always ask a new customer for one.

Now the testimonials page has assured the potential customer that you can fulfil the promises you made in your header also you have gained a bit of trust from your potential customers so anything else you say that follows the testimonials page will be taken as true. This is the reason why the testimonial is placed at the top to gain trust right away where if it was placed at the bottom after presenting some good sales copy it may be already too late.

Info and product

In this section you will give info on what your product or service is about. You should show your customers a list of problems in this area. Agree with the customers, on how frustrating these problems can be and how you, yourself dealt with these problems. The key is to show the person that you have a deep understanding in this area and you are an expert on the subject. That is very important.

Next you must introduce your product as the solution to the problem. Then you must have a proper e-Book cover design. This is crucial. Many people have never purchased an e-book so you must give them some idea what exactly they will be purchasing

Benefit

This section is basically telling your potential customer of the benefits they will receive from purchasing your product. Show your potential customers the enjoyment they will get from using the product. Give them as much information on your product as you can. Use bullet points to emphasize the benefits. Put in another testimonial just to remind the person that it�s all true. Keeping their trust is highly important.

Bonuses

This is a powerful tactic used to increase sales. Including free bonuses with the purchase of your e-Book will increase the perceived value of the e-Book. Also a deadline on bonuses is also a good way to speed up consumer purchases. Bonuses also reduce the risk of money back returns

Guarantee

Offering a guarantee to your potential customers takes the risk off their shoulders. A good guarantee is the final bit in the jigsaw that will make the person finally purchase the product. The agreement is such that if the customer is not happy with their purchases then can get a full refund. You must remember that lots of your potential customers will be �first timers� therefore a guarantee puts their minds at ease. Guarantees can be 30 day, 60 day, or lifetime; however such guarantees must be backed up with an exceptional product.

Summary

This is one of the most important steps in the sales letter; this is where you close the sale. In this section you must include your most appealing benefit and finally ask for the order, because if you don�t they wont. Finally make it easier for them to order like an �order now� button shown below.

At this stage you should start to write your sales letter in Microsoft word we will concentrate on the html design and implementing the sales letter in it in section six but for now just concern yourself with writing your sales letter. To help you here are some of the web�s top e-book publishers sales sites. You can check out my own sales page at http://www.ebookprofitmaker.com

Sales Letter generator

Ok ill now offer you an alternative to writing the sales page yourself. Only use this if you are willing to spend some money. You may want to check out this piece of software that actually writes the sales letter for you. All you do is answer the questions it asks and you will receive your sales letter. You can find this software at sales generator here

Credit card Transactions

Finally you will need to find a credit card processor later on so your e-Books can be ordered. The one I seriously recommend is Clickbank. Ill go into them in more detail in section 6 but for now I want you to know that all these company�s, including Clickbank, have a set of rules that you must abide by to use their software. Don�t panic ill go through these rules now. Basically it involves putting a certain amount of details in your sales letter and product delivery page so you can be accepted by your credit transaction company. So here they are:

You must provide on your sales page:

� Detailed description of your product
� Buy now link
� Explain how the product will be delivered
� Mention how long the delivery will take

* remember theses are rules not suggestions

So that is everything you need to know on how to write your sales letter, hers a quick summary

We need to:

� Write the sales letter before the e-Book
� Sales letter structure must have , header, promise, Testimonial, info and product, benefit, bonuses, guarantee and summary
� You can have your sales letter made by Sales letter generator
� Certain set of rules should be included in the sales letter for the purpose of the credit card transaction company

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