WRITING OBSTACLE
Write a difficult conversation between two characters without using any dialogue tags.
Dialogue tags describe the speech - 'he whispered', 'she murmered', 'they said' etc. Removing these indicators will encourage you to make the dialogue speak for itself, instead of relying on tags to describe and clarify the intent behind the words.
The Confession
“I’m...”
“What? What is it?”
“I’m leaving... I got a job offer in Denver.”
“Nat... please... you can’t-”
“Dammit, James, I /have/ to take this opportunity! God, I knew you’d do this, I just knew-“
“Well, how the hell do you expect me to react?! You’re moving halfway across the fucking country! I want us to make this work, but you-”
“Oh, shut the fuck up. You don’t fucking get to do that to me, you don’t get to guilt trip me into not taking this chance! YOU DON’T GET TO DO THAT!!”
“What about our LIFE TOGETHER?! Huh?! Did you even THINK ABOUT OUR FUTURE?!”
“NO, BECAUSE MY LIFE DOES NOT ALWAYS HAVE TO REVOLVE AROUND /US/, JAMES! Believe it or not, I have to do things for /myself/, that benefit /me/!”
“...”
“...James...?”
“Pack your shit. We’re through.”
“You cannot be serious, this is so typic-“
“I’m not gonna tell you again. Pack. Your. SHIT.”
“...Fine.”
