The 7 Points of Write: An Essential Guide to Mastering the Art of Storytelling, Developing Strong Characters, and Setting Memorable Scenes by Daniel Middleton

with a shark, a made man. What other two wet-behind-the-ears cugines can claim that? You point ’em out.” (Our line is stable at this point.)
    He had a point there. Paul and I shared a glance and kept listening. (Here, it goes down, and the tension decreases.)
    “You two have no idea what kind of advantages could fall into your lap swimmin’ with me. You willing to turn your back on that? Here I am, coming to you two with something like this. I coulda just as easily had Carlo order you to give me a cut. But I ain’t tryin’ to muscle in on what you two are working for. I respect it, see? But you can’t keep shoving me aside like I’m an indegno , no-brain dago, you hear?” (A small uptick. Just enough to keep the tension going.)
    I rubbed my chin and shared another glance with Paul. Then I fixed Tony Gallo with a serious look. “Here’s the deal. You come in on this, you gotta bring something to the table, besides startup.” (And down goes the tension line, but our curiosity is piqued.)
    His face softened for the first time since we’d approached his table. “Like what?” (The line traces down yet more.)
    “Like protection for the females,” I said.
    “Maybe bouncers,” Paul threw in.
    Tony Gallo screwed his face up. “I look like I run a security agency to you?” (One small uptick in our line.)
    “We’re just tossing out ideas,” I said.
    “ All’inferno with your ideas. This is what I’m saying here. You two are still new at this. You don’t know how to delegate yet. You gotta learn people’s strengths. For one thing, you come to me about starting up a club when I don’t know the first thing about it, but that’s beside the point. Carlo’s brains are behind this thing now. What I’m sayin’ is, you gotta zero in on an earner’s strengths, then beef those up. So, this new spot, it got a basement?” (A small dip in our line occurs here.)
    “Yeah, it has a basement,” Paul said. “Why?”
    Tony Gallo picked up his drink and swirled it. The ice cubes rattled against the glass. “I’ll set up a gambling operation down there. Blackjack tables, card games, I’ll even throw in a few betting machines for the ladies and the old geezers. Top of the line.”
    Paul and I were grinning now. I nodded my approval. “Yeah, that’s more like it.” (The tension is completely gone, and the situation is diffused. Now our focus is on a new dynamic.)
    Tony Gallo took a few sips of his drink and then set it down. “That’s what I do. People will eat it up. Plus it gives me another spot to seed.”
    “Now this is brilliance,” I said.
    Paul reached a hand across the table, and Tony Gallo shook it. “You’re in,” Paul said. “We definitely want you in.”
    I stuck out my hand, and Tony Gallo and I shook on the deal. It was official. He was on board with the Brooklyn strip club.
    This scene is much like those scenes in films where an ordinary Joe is trying to diffuse a bomb based on instructions from supposed experts stationed offsite. Tension and suspense exist in the possibility of the wrong wire being cut and the bomb going off, but when the bomb is defused, we all breathe easy and enjoy the scene that plays out. The same holds true here. When there are rises and falls in your dialogue exchanges, coupled with information flows that reveal new things to the reader as well as elements that advance the plot, you’ve got the makings of a great scene of dialogue.



T HE I MPORTANCE OF P LOT
    T HE I MPORTANCE OF P LOT
    C HARACTER DEVELOPMENT IS SOMETHING I tend to look for most in novels, especially when the material is character-driven rather than plot-driven. If a story centers more on plot and action, then I will be inclined to lend greater consideration to the symmetry of the plot—whether there is a harmonious arrangement of the rudiments in the overall story; whether the story rises and falls with creative tension; and whether the author maintains a narrative and thematic balance. Be it