Heard on the Street
January 14th, 2010
Some writers use as many words as they can, I use words sparing — approaching dialogue like poetry, appreciating the music of language.
On the way back from the post office today, I saw two older gentlemen crossing the street to get to their car. The one holding the crumpled tissue in his hand says to his friend, “This is knocking the kishkehs outta me, this nose!”
They both shook their heads in unison. I walked away smiling–not at the poor guy’s pain, but because that’s a line of dialogue so specific to a certain age/ethnicity/religion. With that one line, you can know so much about this guy.
You can even get an idea about delivery, intonation, syncopation — all from 8 words…
The power of language is amazing!
–Sue
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