Well, I'm now writing the sequel to my 05. So far, I've managed to keep most of my opinions in the characters' actions more than putting direct words into their mouths. But now, I've run into one of those discussions.
To give the background, MC1 is from 1314, MC2 is a recovering selfish, self-centered womanizing wealthy musician of the present day who is caught in the 1314 with MC1. They are discussing the attempt to get MC2 back, by going to the tower where the switch first happened. MC1 doesn't want to go anywhere near that tower, and MC2 is asking him why, if he could bring the people he loves, he wouldn't want to come to our time, with all its ease and luxury and opportunity and no danger!! (MC1 has just narrowly escaped hanging by his enemy). MC1 says there are dangers of the soul. MC2 says God is love so there can't possibly be a hell, so there's no real danger to anyone's soul (and then goes on to prove he's got plenty of soul by playing jazz on a recorder-- he's not one to sit still for a very deep conversation. MC1, on the other hand, is one to live his faith rather than talk about it-- but this would be a big question to him.)
Here's where I'm having a hard time not running into preachiness or MC1 sounding like a theological tome. I'd love any and all thoughts on writing such a scene.
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The Minstrel Boy (Sequel to Blue Bells), 08
enTWINed, 07, won
Sins of the Fathers, 06, won
Blue Bells of Scotland, 05, won, working on final edit
50,129 / 50,000
Dec 4, 2008 - 06 38
This reminds me of an old SF story of the boy who crash landed his spacecraft on earth, and made friends of earth kids (teenagers). The earth teenagers decided not to accept his invitation to leave earth for space, when the rescue ship came. Mostly because that isn't where they belonged. Their place was on earth, helping to make it a more progressive, & advanced society, rather than just flying around seeing the universe.
If MC1 is trying to live his faith, then there are people in his own time that will need his help.
Logan
50,230 / 50,000
Dec 4, 2008 - 10 28
I've already recommended this to someone else on the forum, but C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce is nothing BUT spiritual discussions, and he makes them absolutely worth reading. If you read that you might pick up some techniques.
I have a few of these, and one thing I'm having to be careful about is that I tend to make the other guy in the conversation a straw man, easy to beat. Make sure your MC2 isn't saying things just so that MC1 can react to them.