Topic: Radio show script or dialogue?

Hello all,

In the new book I'm writing, the MC is in a 1942 radio soap opera. I am planning to write the script like this in the book - (There are only five chapters where the script would be included)

        [Gracie]    Oh, Mrs. Pickering. I don't know what to do...

        (sound of dishes clanking)

        [Mrs. Pickering] etc.

My question is, will that get old for a reader? Should I not include the scripts to the show? I suppose I don't really need to include them.  I thought it might be fun to have a separate little story in a story, but I don't know if the format is distracting.

Thanks for any feedback or input, smile
Lauren

Quote Post 1

Re: Radio show script or dialogue?

Is the MC's on-stage performance an integral part of the book plot? If so, brief snippets (especially if they have a bearing on the plot) might enhance the story. If the show is only mentioned as a part of the MC's job, then maybe only 1 short snippet of the show might help the reader understand what a script even looks like. Script formats vary quite a bit, so whatever you put down would be fine.

Bill

Quote Post 2

Re: Radio show script or dialogue?

Thanks Bill.
The on-stage performance isn't integral to the main plot of the book, except maybe one scene. I had thought full scripts might be fun as a story within a story, but I'm thinking your suggestion about only snippets would be plenty. I'll have to rethink my main story a bit to give the MC something else to do.

Thanks for your feedback,
Lauren

Quote Post 3

4 Reply by B Douglas Slack (edited by B Douglas Slack 2020-12-18 19:55:29)

Re: Radio show script or dialogue?

Ah. There you go. Use that 'maybe one scene' to write out the stage movements as well as the spoken dialogue. Full scripts can be tedious to read, but the snippet, if it contains a key element to the plot, would be something the reader would retain for use later in the story. I don't know the genre of your story, but if it is a mystery or the like, then your MCs participation in the scene would be crucial.

Bill

Quote Post 4