How to create great dialogue and character development

I have had some great reviews of the Columbus Avenue Boys trilogy. With the recent release of CAMERON’S QUEST, the third part of the story, I wanted to take time to provide some insight into my three main characters, Chris Cameron, Sal Esposito and Tony Albanese. What has been nice feedback from reviewers has been the overwhelming opinion that the characters are authentic, fill the page, feel real, and the dialogue is engaging.

I have to admit, the Columbus Avenue Boys are MY BOYS. I loved writing about them so much – that heck…I wrote three stories about different parts of their fictional lives.

Or was it really made up? Were they fictional? Hmmmm.

Character development and realistic dialogue are my writing forte. I have read many novels over the year and the glaring annoyance of mine is that when I read contrived, out of place dialogue or traits, it sets me off. As such, I have gone to great lengths to give a heartbeat to my people.

Taking the best, worst, intriguing aspects of you, your family, friends, acquaintances and co-workers is what I do. If you are in my path when I am in the zone of writing, most likely your quirks, traits, comments, appearances, etc. will make it into my story – and if lucky---into the entire trilogy. To add length and depth to characters – combine these people in your life to make one super cocktail or multiple memorable pro/antagonists or supporting cast.

Chris Cameron, my antagonist is for all intents and purposes…I am him or he is ME. No, I am not a high caliber, division one athlete who was top of the class and who eventually became a billionaire, hedge fund manager who won the World Series of Poker and then became the greatest president – ever. But, all the traits of Chris are what I am, and I simply extrapolated out my dreams, ambitions, etc. I played football in college – but division three, back in the early 1980s. So, I lived vicariously through Chris. I played in the World Series of Poker in 2006 but lost after four levels – (curse you pocket Aces!). I used this experience to play out the entire first section of my debut novel, CAMERON NATION. The mannerisms, dialogue, gestures of poker players were blended into the story. David Einhorn, a famous hedge fund manager played in the event. His experience inspired a development of Chris Cameron. Einhorn wore a t-shirt with the hand prints of his children and he donated his winnings to charity (a huge part of my character!!!)

Sal Esposito and Tony Albanese are twin like behemoths. Giantsized-supersized bruisers and organized crime enforcers, nevertheless, I had to make them unique. Heck, my wedding party supplied most of what I needed to tap into (as well as the profile of a few acquaintances from my town that are now in the slammer for murder or dead). Sal has many of the same traits, angst and mannerisms of my best friend-Craig Esposito. A singer, with a passion for cooking, family angst as a kid defined his personality. My other buddy Gary-walks around with eighteen inch biceps and drove a 1973 Cadillac when we were teenagers –very easy to incorporate into a nostalgic 1980s storyline. Many days of ours were spent lifting weights at a musclehead gym.

Tony Albanese may make you poop in your pants if he was to come near you on a shadowy street, but he is really a fun loving great guy. Emotional to the core, Tony was taken from my cousin who cries at almost every event – funeral, wedding, ribbon cutting ceremony, you get the picture. I love this type of emotion. I had to add the terrifying appearance of my other teddy bear buddy Joe V to the mix and the ferocious temper of my other giant friend, Jamie as well to round him out.

Dialogue from events in your life can lead to great moments in a story and make a character tug at your heart. In 1995, my wife and I went to Las Vegas for our one-year anniversary. I was playing poker one day and sat next to an elderly gentleman. The guy was hunched over and never spoke as he played. As he was scooping in chips against a 20-something drunk guy, the 20-something said “old man, you’re kicking my ass!” Without skipping abeat, the old man said “I haven’t even started kicking your ass yet.” Boom, this fun moment was put in the memory bank for seventeen years before written as an early line for my Vincent Scala character.

I hope this helps with your characters. If you want to see how my Columbus Avenue Boys come to life, check out my work.

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Published on February 21, 2017 12:11 Tags: book-launch, catchy-dialogue, character-development, dialogue, five-star-review, review
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