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Fave quote from or line about a character

edited August 2010 in Writing
Hi all.

I was just thinking how pleased I was with the beginning to chapter 4 (a rewrite of a boring scene, to spice it up) and in particular a line about my main character Dorothy: -

"Dorothy was confident that if she hadn’t been such a good serial killer she would have made a fantastic actress."

This is one of her rare moments of humour.

What about everyone else? Care to share your fav quotes?

Comments

  • if you are really pleased with something, it is a sure thing that it has to come out, so no, nothing to share. We are told to kill our darlings ...
    and that is telling, not showing, BTW...
  • Dorothy - has robin1 based his character on you?!! :)
  • no, sorry ...Robin doesn't know me in 'real' life
  • [quote=robin1]"Dorothy was confident that if she hadn’t been such a good serial killer she would have made a fantastic actress."
    [/quote]

    [quote=dorothyd]if you are really pleased with something, it is a sure thing that it has to come out[/quote]

    I don't think that's always true and I do think that's a great line. Only Robin can judge how it fits with the rest of his writing and if he likes it, I think he should keep it.
  • for now, perhaps, but it isn't good to be possessive over a line, when an editor might find it jars and throws something out. It could come out in revision, as not being right. I would never do that, pick a line I line and say it's my favourite, knowing it could be ditched.
  • I have a favourite line from my novel DD that's far too explicit for here (Gosh I am naughty...) but I know with my new novel plans, that chapter might not stay in, so. I do find it amusing, however.
  • Sorry just come to this thread and thank you for all your comments, very thought provoking (I do like constructive criticism.)

    I'm glad you like it Claudia :)

    I feel a bit silly here, because it is not just a throwaway line it does fit into the paragraph around and that moment is done from her perspective, but I won't share that with you, because I know it is not good to put your writing online as when it comes to publsih it (if I am thaty lucky) then it might cause problems.

    And thank you Dorothy for reminding me about being over possessive and from now on I will try not to be (I think I just get carried away.)

    And my disclaimer again - this character is not based on our dorothy.

    :)
  • Think everyone has lines that stand-out in their mind as if highlighted. Dorothy's fully correct, don't latch onto anything as you might find later on it needs to be kicked to the side of the road.
  • edited September 2010
    I have a favourite line from All About Sex. It's spoken by a character who doesn't usually say humorous things. I can't really tell you what it is because it gives some of the plot away.

    I did find someone had put a line or two from The Dandelion Clock in a memorable quotes section on a blog or something, which I was pleased about. I think it was this bit:

    "It had already begun, the litany of time. Soon it would be an hour ago that Rob was here; then this time yesterday; and then this time last week."
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