VOICES OF CHARACTERS
Dear Dirk:
Just writing to tell you that I read "Pharmacology is Murder" in one sitting. Your analogies and metaphors are great. I loved the way your characters use them to make their points and indirectly explain things to the reader. I especially loved Dr. Westley and his wife. Their expressions, choice of words, were so very British. Their voices were so vivid that I actually thought I was listening to them on tape.
- Dr. Paulette Dale
Dear Paulette:
Thank you for your comment. After I started writing, I worked hard training my ear to listen how people speak. I also worked out methods for capturing their cadence and spirit on the written page. Of course, I had a lot of good examples. There are so many good authors out there, classic and contemporary.
I have also enjoyed "reading" great authors on audio tape. We had a back seat full of them on a two-day drive to Washington, D.C., a year or so back. The time went by so quickly that we were actually sad when we reached the Beltway! The audio experience got me in the habit of testing every paragraph out loud before sending the work to the editor.
Consider yourself lucky to be a reader with a "musical ear". Many newspaper- and computer-jaded people read only with their eyes, nowadays.
- Dirk Wyle
Dr. Paulette Dale is the author of Did You Say Something, Susan?, a guide for naturally-modest women who have difficulty getting credit for their accomplishments in the office and elsewhere.
Return to home page