Way Station and What Does a Question Weigh?

By Wes Payton

Author’s note on the Dialogue

“Right, so my writing has a lot of it. They say actions speak louder than words, and while that’s true in life, I think the opposite is true in books. After all, how many times have you seen a film adaptation of a favorite novel and were disappointed that the movie focused too much on some bit of action that only had a brief mention in the book but omitted a lot of the characters’ dialogue in favor of those more cinematic moments and thus missed the point?

​I think dialogue-heavy novels are gaining traction with readers today. Well-written dialogue offers more immediacy than description that too often seems prosaic and irrelevant. A recent example of this is George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo. As an American history buff, I’ve read numerous books on Abraham Lincoln, but none of them were as engaging as this one, and a large part of the reason (though certainly not the only part) was that the book is almost entirely comprised of dialogue.

​However, some readers have told me that they find too much dialogue fatiguing. I would suggest slowing down a bit and savoring the dialogue. Allow the characters to speak with their own voices in your mind. Imagine the conversation unfolding in a natural way. Most of my books are around the 200-page mark, so they aren’t exactly tomes, and there’s no deadline. You won’t finish the book as quickly, but I think you’ll enjoy it more...at least, I hope you will.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: Adelaide Books Publishers
• Release date: Jul 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781951214036

Wes Payton

Wes Payton has a B.A. in Rhetoric/Philosophy and an M.A. in English. His play Way Station was selected for a Next Draft reading in 2015, and What Does a Question Weigh? was selected for a staged reading as part of the 2017 Chicago New Work Festival. He is the author of the novels Lead Tears, Darkling Spinster, Darkling Spinster No More, Standing in Doorways, and Downstate Illinois. Wes and his family live in Oak Park, Illinois.

Book preview

��\�cbook_preview_excerpt.html�Zˮ7��q��2�6�Hbab;�u`xIuSjF�d�ɾJge`~!�����U���œSŖd]��1�+6Y�:u�T��O�?�`��={�~��<�����9>��l�OƇ�5;�~1�y����ɋ���ڄ_��.�|;x������������W���ߏ�����5�M7��|����l�6{��#j�?�7��*�i�^aML�t>ِ�!�w3����qC糯L����olr�SS�ٹlz�)��!Q��Y~�=�y�i��]�a���+�T v�xX�S��Ļ��_/�ƶ�8��3��Y=^�N��m8��\�����mn��|�ח�q�����'/����S��F�k�|3fD�ǀU�r���M?nZ����:z)��g�������n�u��Pc�G��d}��㊓LǶ6g��NX����Ap�}��Hn�n��C��8*��]6g���;~Kjfպ{,�8�=�s?�b���&�U�Rڎ����ۚ����rw��rc��dۺ����]������� ����fdR���0�_f���z������
H;;�i��z�w�0��8�����8�%;``�̲�x��lw�
＃��%�7�=�z*ǝ��1�cGLTq e� ci����$�d&����[�a�cg�Y6�v�"6�wb�����7�ye��r�
f$��u۬�������)T[��4]=�]�a'�R��a]��t��GY��V�lXrU�$��٪����z� ]��������u+����
x��y��E꿓3�~�5��n!�5�K�ݮ�������F��o۾"n�ҩ0����EY��_�ie�h�8���tc����{�U��ϖ� ��#������ڇx��� �������xW7��� 1��G�7r���b�\��~A��+Ґ.��|�g���J���Œ:���]�d�8^E8�#�x�nƤEq;8�O0�ԧ+����!2��@ގIp2�����I�bē���M�SY����J��A�0��=��تյ����W��~�/.q�V9���|0���Bt7�k�AY��S�B*�4���ד�D(���}f��%t�h4�脄T��!��CR^o��{;x�8�*��q�:�9z"��Z1ρ�����Ƹ�5{W��u�ի��
��ܚ&e8����^�'�)4gC��ZA������N�-x$��6�ٶ��ue�c
Q� ��$F1��G�򠦡[4�J�82O��bƾ����Y��@~��vRƲ��a:�_#�+>�ݣ�)�{H��6F�� ,8�;���qY���YM�q��9)���N�t7��wRBI�t\�G�A��N��I��K�;^e>�d�H)�����f{��Α��4]u��h����YN��������H+Vw���͂���I�����p��J�O�=�íy�)�9�c�'֢j��B\��Q5�Z�T{,�Z��ܠ��W]�#.EV�5�f�`΁‹�q ������W�/�f3�h�d[� νяKDp@�s%:��"#3�W9���5�T�Aϡ���W�(z0o|#�18�NW;�\ȑ�\��`�Z��[2�Ʃ>8A�rk��� ����܂���R䝳AW>�Vu��c,}`��SO.���hmv5�g.�%��8��r �B���"���kh:2��e��8�pWEn6�j�xk92�j�<�����j��
B�n"�4�q�k�����������b9��9��^~b���8�k3��}ߝ�Y�b�R�A�~-�&�v}�NGj�DiT��Q�>P�[8�r[������^�ޞ"n^�p��̜(J]#���w�*���)��<4�����T1kʳ����%�`-]��36D��q
s��ZJ�"�%���k;A�����S��sj���5�?>�B����a$ �;i�e#x����ء�$��*CM�D���=kZ@��H+�6pR�TÎ�;,�E�Ub���lY��5�{l�γ�ŋP�<�SW�{��;�9:�tZ�|�ן�%� �.f�T/6������"I�|;�S7�R�� F1�I9@X�8q�\plQ;6(�0�f��Y�I��Ξ3�Nu�X���wՊW��^��������`��K ��2?�,��Lu�vnI���y�ybT�)�:B��*�E�{7�37䦕��]v=�����.��+��/�Y����2�[��tw뢪Q�rA��]$B���̅UI):�)U�4G�&Jұ6V������d��R�����\k��X�3!CT�� ��jE�1RtU� E�~�Z݂W��Ӣ��'[��s�� `�S�.�/�=��V���Z8��6f�z����kb�+��P�(���,6?��c��@2��X�:c��]�� �|����P�u���|p��ڡ!�x^=�YѐvD�r�'�}~ 6��J[��`�'7�n����?�B�ұ��g�ڲ�_4�NsBۺ-,a�Yc�B�>9&�0�Y:�����\}D��v��{�g�z���`��l���� |J?�Оʤq;��M凪u�^*ݼɮT��$�~����ĵpM�<��U���²5l��k��T�ˆ��i��&8�������S�+T��W쪽zyU�L���v��<|�FO`��d\Q}|�q� �Bis���m�s����JI4�iF4� ���5b:���DYٴ�8�A�q����>�Q 1g����[��1-[>��Snt��T��M��溂<�g�b��aP�F�2�sR�şٹ`Y�E3�� `CpU�L;ȄG�n=������qj�X.j��h[�.@����UL�!���t�4�\��������������0��y}T��|}1p���@ￗ ��\��d�tP��Ѱ�+��0��U�M=u`�w��;�.7���p�ʒ1���lw־�?���|#���+�����a��o��kz�ZI������X$