Improve Your Creative Writing (4) - Use Direct Speech

 You can improve your creative writing by including direct speech.  In English tutoring I love to teach students how quickly they can develop the quality of their writing.

[To read the first three parts of the story, you can visit Creative Writing (1) , Improving Your Creative Writing (2) and Improve Your Creative Writing (3) ]

Here is the net section that uses direct speech to bring characters to life (actually they are birds in a nightmare that taunt the main character in this section!):

When he awoke, it was dawn, and a few birds were singing.

Quest was tired, and he stared blankly at the ceiling.  Vague memories of his nightmare lingered in his mind, and he was caught in that strange zone somewhere between sleep and wakefulness.

The songs of the birds started to sound a little shrill.  They became more insistent.  They started to jab, a bit, in his ears.

The Second Visit

Birdsong changed into shadowy characters that started to dance around him.  Except that it wasn’t a dance, it was more of a military manoeuvre.  They were circling him, clearly with intent to block all means of escape.

Each was so ugly – human body, bird face, complete with sharp beaks and piercing, dark eyes.  They were eyes of hate.  And they were turned on him.

“Give us your money!” 

“Turn out your pockets!”

“What’re you scared of?” 

“Are you frightened, little boy?”

They weren’t bird calls anymore, they were needles, piercing his heart.  The beaks were pecking at his heart. They spread their huge, black wings and suddenly there was no way of escape.  He was jostled by sharp feathers and he fell to the ground.  They came closer, tighter; they looked like they were going to attack…

Direct speech needs careful punctuation (always remember the final punctuation BEFORE the last speech marks) but this passage shows how it can drive a story on without any need to say what's happening.

This is an example of my teaching as an English tutor.  I offer a free 30 minute online consultation, with no ongoing commitment, to advise families about GCSE and A Level tutoring, which you can book via this page.  And you can learn more about my extensive experience via the About page.

Thanks for visiting Literature of the Hart!

Michael