James Preller's Blog

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In a previous post, I explored one scene from Ann Patchett’s novel, Tom Lake. I omitted all of the spoken dialogue from a kitchen table scene in order to highlight all the other written aspects that bolster such a scene: the attribution, the descriptions, the interior thoughts, the stage directions, and so forth. 

Now in retrospect, I realize that I should have included the dialogue, too, as a footnote. That will follow here. To me, it’s another interesting way to appreciate what a “real” writer does to make a talky scene come alive in the mind of the reader. 

Typing out the dialogue now, I find myself really missing those little stage directions throughout. Emily draining the wine glass. Emily balancing the fork. Lara’s interior musing. Joe stepping outside to look at the cherry trees. In fact, it could be argued that it’s not so much about the details to support the dialogue, but that the primary work is in all the stage directions — for lack of a better term — while the dialogue itself is the secondary character. 

More might be said by what is unsaid. 

To me, that’s a profound lesson for a writer. Because that’s life, isn’t it? We don’t always have the words. 

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Here’s the dialogue only, from pages 142-144:

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EMILY

“Or not.”

JOE

“Or not what? Not enough time? Is this going to be a very long engagement?”

BENNY

“We’re not having children.”

JOE

“You don’t know that.”

EMILY

“I know that.”

LARA

“You don’t want children?”

EMILY

“I don’t know if I want them but I’m sure i”m not going to have them.”

[pause]

EMILY

“I know this isn’t the way you planned things. I know it’s not what you want.”

LARA

“It isn’t about what we want.”

BENNY

“Crops used to fail once every fifty years. The crops have failed twice since I was born. The winters are milder, the lake is warmer, the trees aren’t staying dormant long enough. They bloom too early, the freeze kills the buds.”

JOE

“Why are you saying this? What do you think we don’t already know?”

BENNY

“Sooner or later we’re going to have to stop putting in cherry trees.”

JOE

“No.”

MAISIE

“I really cannot stand this.”

BENNY

“It’s not going to be cold enough for them anymore. We’re going to have to start thinking about wine grapes, strawberries, asparagus.

JOE

“So plant the grapes. It doesn’t mean you don’t have children.”

NELL

“It sort of does. Once you think about it.”

JOE

“You, too? Have the three of you signed a pact?”

NELL

“I have no idea what I’m going to do. But I’ll tell you, I think about it.”

MAISIE

“Who doesn’t think about it?”

EMILY

“I can eat vegetables and ride my bike and stop using plastic bags but I know I’m just doing it to keep myself from going crazy. The planet is fucked. There’s nothing I can do about that. But I’ll tell you what, I’m going to spend my life trying to save this farm. If anybody ever wonders what I’m here for, that’s it.”

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