Definitive List of Cliched Dialogue. “The Definitive List of Cliché Dialogue” started with U.K.
-based screenwriter Kevin Lehane. I explained the background in a post here back in November, 2009: Just about a month ago, I posted this: Writer Kevin Lehane, whose script “Grabbers” made the most recent Brit List, the UK equivalent of The Black List, has a blog called The Anthology of Codology. I was bumping around it the other day and hit this post: “The Definitive List of Cliched Dialogue”. Well, two things have happened in the interim. Over the weekend I discontinued my blog. And of course, I said yes. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? I created this link — The Definitive List of Clichéd Dialogue — under Lists and over time, people have clicked on it and added some suggestions. 122. Any more you want to add to the list, please post in comments. UPDATE: Remember that there are times when cliché dialogue can be a positive, not a negative.
Also as George mentioned in comments: Ha ha!! That’s right. Great examples. Character archetypes in WALL STREET. Yesterday I posted a response to a reader question from Annika W: Does a Mentor character always have to be right?
In comments, a discussion arose about the movie Wall Street, so I figured it would be interesting for us to analyze that movie per its character archetypes. For background on five primary character archetypes (Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster) you can go here to an early post I put together on the subject. For a synopsis of Wall Street’s plot, you can go here. Here is a list of the major characters in the movie: Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen)Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas)Carl Fox (Martin Sheen)Darien Taylor (Daryl Hannah)Sir Lawrence Wildman (Terence Stamp)
Character Name Generator. The simple automated character name generator below will help in your search for interesting and unique character names, male or female.
Have you struggled to imagine a suitable name for your story or novel character? Maybe you've checked in baby books or have flipped through the phonebook looking for the right combination of names, and still you can't find one you like? Follow these suggestions for naming fictional characters and then have fun choosing one at the bottom of the page with the random character name generator. First, decide whether you'll refer to your character by his or her full name, first name, surname, or a nickname. Remain consistent. Now play around with the character name generator below to quickly and easily generate alternatives, until you find one that suits your character. In the dropdown menu below, choose whether you want a male or female name, and then click the 'Generate Name' button. 25 Insights on Becoming a Better Writer.
When George Plimpton asked Ernest Hemingway what the best training for an aspiring writer would be in a 1954 interview, Hem replied, “Let’s say that he should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult.
Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with.” Today, writing well is more important than ever. Far from being the province of a select few as it was in Hemingway’s day, writing is a daily occupation for all of us — in email, on blogs, and through social media. It is also a primary means for documenting, communicating, and refining our ideas. So what can we do to improve our writing short of hanging ourselves? 1. Don’t just plan to write—write. 2. [The] Resistance knows that the longer we noodle around “getting ready,” the more time and opportunity we’ll have to sabotage ourselves. Daily Writing Tips.
Thirty Tools for Writers. [Author’s note: Of the many things I’ve written for the Poynter website, none has been as popular as my "Twenty Tools for Writers.
" This list has been quoted, cited, praised, debated, and repurposed by writers, editors, teachers, and other professionals who care about the craft. That folks find these tools useful gives me courage. So I’m adding ten more to my workbench, and sharpening up several others. As you can see, I’m very impressed with myself. Thirty writing tools requires a big workbench. At times it helps to think of writing as carpentry. Below is a list of 30 writing and revising tools. Sentences and Paragraphs.