Hear No Evil See No Evil
Tonight I spent a pleasant evening in an upstairs room of a crumbling ancient inn with a sloping floor, a ceiling painted with scenes from the battle of Trafalgar and unexplained noises emanating from within the walls. It was a script reading night – what a hoot! And so very illuminating from various angles – some more enlightening than others.
It got me to thinking how amazingly different it is to experience the written word visually from audibly. How an audience perceives what it sees or hears, and the opportunity for the writer to portray and to imbed their idea in the minds of their intended targets. Listening to the points of views from around the room really showed just how differently each person sees and hears a story - and even more interestingly, after each point of view is aired how the previous spouters change their direction when they realise new view points. The mind creates a powerful picture from listening, while a projected image instils its own message.
Dialogue is such a different unit from the novel or the short story – a whole separate ball game with a very definite demographic. The plot has to grab, hook and ensnare within the shortest blip of time. Suck the audience in, believe the story, engage with the characters, always leave them wanting more. It’s got to be credible but incredible at the same time. What a wonderful challenge for any writer to create a plot that can do this.