Doggy Dialogue with Janet Shaw

Creating stories with animals as your characters is great fun. By using imaginative words, you can paint a picture of each animal in your reader’s mind, and all without a paint brush.

Let’s see how you can do this. Meet Ziggy, a Pekinese. (That’s a dog, for those of you who don’t know!)

Ziggy was no bigger than a guinea pig and had a face like a squashed monkey’s. No-one actually could be sure that he was a dog. When he breathed, he made snorting noises like a piglet.

Now you’ve started building a picture of Ziggy. But what else can you do? How do we get a feel for his personality?

‘Back off,’ Ziggy snapped, his tiny razor-sharp teeth showing between black lips. He eyed the huge bone in front of him. It was nearly twice his size. But Ziggy showed no speck of fear. He stood his ground, not a quiver in his body, as Bob the basset looked on.

Okay, now we get an idea of who Ziggy is and how he appears to others. But what about how Ziggy feels inside?

Ziggy’s heart thundered in his chest. That basset was way bigger than him. He’d gobble him up in one quick bite. Please, he thought to himself, please let me look scary.

Now you’re getting an idea of how dialogue and action around dialogue can paint a picture of your character.

In my workshop, ‘Doggy Dialogue’, you’ll get the chance to bring to life the doggy characters in my book ‘Seeing Dogs’. And of course, Lucy, my guide dog, will be there to lend a paw.

See you there!
Janet

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