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How to Set up Meetings

Wanara009

Troubadour
I'm pretty confident when I'm writing character interacting, but I just can't get the 'meeting' right. This is probably because I'm extremely shy in the real world so I don't have much experience on meeting new people. Anyone have any tip for writing a believable meeting between two character with opposite (or at least conflicting) personality and lifestyle?
 

MadMadys

Troubadour
Well for dialogue, I always find that you have to take it in waves. First time through think of what you want the conversation to accomplish. With that in mind, begin with your first line then answer it and then go off from that line and so on. Then make some extra passes through the dialogue focusing on the particular personalities of each of the characters to make sure everything they say sounds like something they would say.

Don't be dissuaded by some irrelevant blabbering, off-topics, or 'awkward' dialogue bits either. Conversation between people, especially first meetings, hardly ever goes perfectly, with complete sentences or being right to the point. Dialogue that keeps these things in mind reads more realistically than when people construct dialogue to a built end. That stuff usually reads like chalk on cardboard.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you asking about making the meeting actually happen so that the two characters meeting one another doesn't feel contrived? Or are you asking about how to make the meeting, that's already in progress, proceed naturally?
 

Wanara009

Troubadour
I'm not sure I understand the question. Are you asking about making the meeting actually happen so that the two characters meeting one another doesn't feel contrived? Or are you asking about how to make the meeting, that's already in progress, proceed naturally?

Both, actually.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
Okay, well in that regard, I believe a major component is motive. Do the characters have a real motive for meeting? I try to avoid chance encounters as a rule. Occasional chance encounters are okay if they're sprinkled in but too many and they will ring false.

So, take a look at your characters. Does each have a reason for being there or going there? The end result does not have to be their motive but they each need to know why they're doing any action, just like real people. Once you've established the why we can get to the truly important part...motive for conflict. Without conflict, there is no story. Without motive (with rare exceptions) there is no conflict. What are the goals and motives of each character once the meeting occurs? As the author you must know why they will act the way they do. The characters must behave honestly in accordance with their psychological makeup & motives.

Once you know your characters goals and motives you should be better prepared to write the truth...the truth about behavior, the honest depiction of why people do what they do & say what they say. Just like you wouldn't write about a massive avalanche careening towards a small village that suddenly stops for no apparent logical reason (just or the story's sake), your characters must also behave within the parameters of who they are and what they after. The avalanche always behaves naturally if it is going to be believable.

Motive is the basic element but be aware, motives can change. They can change over time or they can change instantly with a new revelation. Regardless though, it always plays a major role in any characters actions, thoughts, dialogue, etc.

Lastly, also keep in mind that it's okay to hide motive at some points along the way. Just as people don't always wear their heart on their sleeve, the same should be true with our characters. They may disguise their motives with actions or dialogue contrary to their actual goal.
 
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For getting the characters to meet, remember also: sometimes it isn't that one person goes to another, it's that it's someone in the crowd that something makes them notice. Someone likes (or hates) your t-shirt. Someone's just ahead of you in line when something odd happens, and you start talking. And those are still only chance meetings; this might be more about your ovreall sense of what the characters are doing in life and how the meeting fits into the plot.

For dialog, there are a lot of guides to it, but I'll say two things:

Consider planning out patterns of how different people talk-- the goal is to show how each is different, and why. Does someone say just a few words and leave it at that, or try to say something twice because he thinks he didn't get it right the first time, or is it enthusiasm that makes him keep going? In my WIP, Angie's a bit clipped because she's impatient and sizes things up quickly, while Mark keeps trying to work things out as he goes, full of "or maybe--"s.

And, practice saying dialog aloud. It's easy to get caught up in details or background or whatever words come to mind, but it's a great quick check to say it aloud and ask "wait, would a real person (who thinks like this guy) actually say something like that?"
 
You're not going to like this. I know you are shy, but sometimes you have to get into meeting people to understand how to do it for your character. The very least you should do is go to a public place with a pen and paper in hand, scribbling notes on people who are meeting. Change it up, move around, look for different areas to explore. Coffee shops, diners, pubs (if you're old enough), movie houses, etc. See them in their natural habitat, and then you can see what you can do from there.

I bet you get some interesting tidbits you can use for this story on WHY they are meeting and HOW they went about it. Just don't be too nosy...

EDIT: Sorry about that, pulled the trigger too soon.

The real thing here is to figure out what your characters are like, why they are meeting, and where they are coming from. if you can nail that with any good reason, you can chart ways to make them meet. Is it accidental? Forced meeting? Old friendship? Using some of what I said above helps too, where they meet is critical as well. Use the setting to tell some of your character background.

Dialogue can be formal or loose, depending on their relationship in the past. The best way is to give little tidbits to your readers though this dialogue on their past in general.
 
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Don't be dissuaded by some irrelevant blabbering, off-topics, or 'awkward' dialogue bits either. Conversation between people, especially first meetings, hardly ever goes perfectly, with complete sentences or being right to the point. Dialogue that keeps these things in mind reads more realistically than when people construct dialogue to a built end. That stuff usually reads like chalk on cardboard.
Don't think I agree with this. Conversation in the real world may be awkward, but we're not talking about the real world. We're talking literature where (in accordance with the rules of your world and characters) converation is polished and perfect. And I'm not talking about perfect clarity of message here - I mean perfect in terms of the characters you've created within the world you've created and the structure of the scene within the unfolding plot. Your plot of course is nothing more than a calculated drip feed of information and conversations are a really important part of that. Screw them up at your peril.
 
Don't think I agree with this. Conversation in the real world may be awkward, but we're not talking about the real world. We're talking literature where (in accordance with the rules of your world and characters) converation is polished and perfect. And I'm not talking about perfect clarity of message here - I mean perfect in terms of the characters you've created within the world you've created and the structure of the scene within the unfolding plot.

Dialog is a constant balancing act, between real-world bumblings and "well, that's what he'd say"s on one hand and regular write-to-the-point efficiency on the other. The streamlining may be more important, or at least it's harder to go wrong with too few words than too many, but there's room for finding the right angle and trimmings to make character points without risking the rest.

--At least, limiting tangents and things is better for style, but not always for content:

Your plot of course is nothing more than a calculated drip feed of information and conversations are a really important part of that. Screw them up at your peril.

Words to live and die by. Always remember, the moon may have exploded last chapter but if you don't clearly mention it, readers won't know. And it's triply important for giving someone's motivations, and why they look at a situation and see one answer because several others don't work. It all depends on information, and dialog is the most natural place for much of it.
 

SeverinR

Vala
I think the best way to learn how people interact is to watch how people do it.

Even if you have a prefered way to meet people, it doesn't mean it will fit every meeting, and fit every character.

Just like with dialog, you need to study different people and how they interact. You want your confident characters reaction to a meeting, not yours. You want your timid character to meet someone as they would not how you would.
The characters way of interacting should match their personality.
 
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