Went out to see the movie Winter’s Bone in Queen Anne last night.  I highly recommend it for writers.  It has a strong female character, a society that is itself a character, knockout dialogue, real social dilemmas, and it never missed a beat.

We often think our stories need to be big – to be about saving the whole world from aliens or throwing the one ring into a lake of fire.  This is as strong a story, humanity writ strong, all inside the stakes of a single poor family unlikely to ever be noticed by the world at large.  And it works extraordinary well.

And did I say the dialogue is awesome?  I want to write dialogue that real.  I really do.  I want to write words that fall out of characters mouths full of personality and toughness and setting, that aren’t wasted or superfluous and yet all sound natural.

There is also a book, by Daniel Woodrell. I read the opening (available on the films main website), and ordered the book.  It’s voicy, which is also something I would say about the movie.

You can watch the trailer on IMDB. It’s not sf, not genre fiction at all, but it is about being human, which is something the best genre fiction is also about.