HEARING VOICES BLOGFEST (Part 2)

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

So here we are again at the second part of Cassie Mae and Angela Cothran's I'm Hearing Voices Character Blogfest.  Today's challenge is all about the dialogue; two characters introduce each other in 250 words or less.  No introspection, no backstory, just dialogue.

I took this challenge a step further and didn't add any dialogue or action tags either.  I'm not sure this would be practical for a sequence this long in the actual novel, but this is a "voices" blogfest (and this scene never happened in the novel), so lets see if you can identify the characters by the context and the voice.  I also didn't do a literal "introduction" type excerpt.  I wasn't entirely sure how this segment should post, but I never like to take the obvious road.  DO feel free to let me know if I satisfied the spirit of the challenge: two characters introduce each other to the reader.

If you read Monday's post - Characters on the couch - you'll recognize that I'm continuing to use two (of the three) main characters from my women's fiction novel Not Her Mothers Fate.
* * *

“Hey Amy.”

“Robert.  What are you doing here?”

“Uhm, well, I wanted to ask you out.  On a date.”

“And you thought to bring along a beer to bolster your courage?”

“Oh.”

“You were so bold as to kiss me at my birthday party, and now you’re nervous?”

“I was a little – oh alright, a lot – drunk that night. “

“And you’ll do anything on a dare, right?  Honestly, quit looking so sheepish.  Go ahead, take another swig, and tell me why I should go out with you.”

“Besides the curly red hair, and that all our mutual friends want us to hook up?”

“That in itself is reason for me not to date you Robert.   Wipe the dribbles off your chin.  Thank you.  Now, don’t you think your devout Seventh Day Adventist parents would disapprove of you dating a girl like me?”

“That’s unfair Amy.  Just cuz you don’t go to our church and you live with two partying roommates doesn’t mean they won’t warm up to you.  You’re independent and practical, like my mom.  She’ll like that you don’t draw attention to yourself with makeup or sleazy clothes.”

“So you’re looking for a mommy replacement?  Thanks Robert, but I doubt I’m the girl for you.  You need someone to save you from your own demons.  I don’t need a guy who can’t control his own urges.  When you grow up and can talk to me without a can of beer, perhaps we’ll talk again.”

* * *

Does it work?  Do you feel you know the essentials about these two characters?  That they have properly introduced each other?  Seriously; I like honest feedback :)

Visit Cassie's original blogfest post here for the linky to other participants and prize details.