We all want to write amazing dialogue, but it can be deceptively difficult. The rub is that few people actually say what they mean. Society, religion and class all put constraints on our desires, creating fear and shame that forces us to sensor our words. For the most part, that’s a good thing because it helps maintain the stability of society. But if you want to write complicated characters, you need to understand the juxtaposition of what they are saying versus what they mean. This is called subtext.
More that 60 years ago novelist Patricia Highsmith wrote a controversial book about a relationship between two women in New York City in the late 1940s. The book’s title was The Price of Salt, and the author used a pseudonym due to the story’s content. Finally, after a long battle by one of the author’s friends, the book has been adapted ...