Think of the hardest thing to accomplish in writing. This isn’t exactly an objective question; answers will vary from person to person. For some, it’s simply getting something down on paper or in the word processor. For others, it’s characterization, coming up with names or backstory, or even trying to keep every important event in a logical order.

But how often do writers talk about the difficulties of writing dialogue?

I’ve rarely heard complaints about trying to mimic realistic speech or accents. Probably because they figure that if you can listen to people talk, then you’ve already studied the art of dialogue.

Have you ever really listened to a conversation? I mean, really listened to how people draw out their vowels, throw in vocal fillers, or stammer? If I were writing this according to the way I sometimes speak, you’d have a hard time following anything. Occasionally I’ll stammer, switch to another train of thought before returning to the previous one, correct myself in the middle of the sentence, or even stall as I try to come up with a proper word. (Forgetting certain words is one of my common traits.)

And accents. Ugh. I was recently reminded of how atrocious written accents can be while reading Of Mice and Mayhem, a fan-made graphic novel of Chip ‘n Dale’s Rescue Rangers. Don’t get me wrong, the story was fantastic, and I’m envious of the writer/artist’s skills. But Monty’s accent… I literally cringed when I read “Gehdjit” for the first time.

That’s it for this post… What? You expected something insightful and more than 500 words? Fine. Tomorrow–all right, several hours from now when the sun is up–I’ll post an excerpt from one of my favorite writing books. I gots me some playthroughs to watch on YouTube, dammit.