Conversations take place on a daily basis, whether they are the traditional face to face, or the more recent social media venues. In these conversations you have the one who is speaking, and the one who is not. Notice I did not refer to the non-speaking person as the listener. Listening is a skill that few have put into practice.
Take a controversial subject, such as immigration, politics, religion, whether or not elves have pointy ears, or the origin of dilithium crystals. At each point in the conversation you will have the one arguing their point, and one formulating their counterpoint. At some point, the not-listener will hang on something that is said, forget the words that fell before and never hear the words that follow. The priority becomes formulation of an argument against that one thing that was said. Never mind the fact that the words following or preceding may agree with that very argument being formulated.
The not-listener walks away thinking the speaker is an idiot, the speaker walks away knowing that their words fell on deaf ears. Understanding, of course, that both parties in the conversation will play the two roles. So, I suppose, arguments inevitably result in the production of two idiots.
Tension. It is one of the elements that will drive a story. It keeps the audience involved. There are several tools available to the writer to bring tension into play; the interaction of two characters in an argument is one of these tools.
The next time you are witness to a discussion over politics, etc. take a moment to listen. Listen to the words being said. Pick up on the elements that were ignored. Watch the speaker’s body language. Pay attention to the inflictions used to enforce a point. Watch the not-listener. Do the eyes glaze over, or wander? Do they even put up the front of listening? Finally, write it all down. Construct a scene.
Is this a tool that can be put into play? Is it a thread that can be used for the weave of your tale?
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