Dialogue

Anyone can write what we call dialogue, but writing good dialogue is no easy task. It takes time and practice to develop a quality ear. But it sits at the heart of screenwriting.

In a screenplay, dialogue is conversation, but conversation in everyday life is definitely not dialogue. Real talk is boring. If you read a transcription of a real conversation - even if the subject matter is controversial and full of passionate opinions - it’s completely absurd. This real talk is disjointed, long winded, redundant, unfocused, and often just too much information. 

Alfred Hitchcock put is this way when explaining a good story was “life, with the dull parts taken out.” Dialogue is no different. 

So in writing good dialogue, it’s never about capturing truth or reality: how we really talk. Realistic dialogue only gives a flavor of reality. It is artful deception. That isn’t to say that the screenwriter doesn’t write dialogue that reads like real speech. Not at all. It must feel and sound believable, but the irony is that believable dialogue doesn’t exist in real talk. 

Good screenplay dialogue has a rhythm, and therefore is easily spoken. It’s compressed and moves rapidly, like a ball in a ping-pong match. The verbal exchanges move back and forth between characters, shifting power from one side to the other, until somebody scores the point. Screenplay dialogue must be full of conflict, lots of it. And rarely do characters say exactly what they mean: dialogue is all about subtext

Done properly, good dialogue will move your story forward and flesh out your characters, and in this section, you will learn to use some simple rules and tips as well as avoid common pitfalls to give a believable and distinct voice to your great characters.

Subtext: Sight vs. Insight




Subtext is what a character is really saying between the lines, and it is revealed by a character's actions and reactions.

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Dialogue: Five Strategies




The beginning screenwriter often uses dialogue as a crutch, thinking it is his best friend. Sure, most characters do have dialogue, but remember that action reveals character. SHOW us the emotion, the situation, the tension, etc. Don’t tell it. 

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Exposition: Five Rules




Exposition is necessary as an aid to the understanding of the facts from which the story action departs. It is not a part of the dramatic story but simply an explanation to the audience

Read more: Exposition: Five Rules

 

Ten Dialogue Musts




In their book The Tools of Screenwriting, David Howard and Edward Mabley illustrate ten things the screenwriter must accomplish when writing dialogue: 

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Speeches and Monologues




Citizen Kane (1941) - Charles Foster Kane's speech to executives on the Inquirer’s success.

Kane (Orson Welles): "Six years ago, I looked at a picture of the world's greatest newspaper men. I felt like a kid in front of a candy store. Well, tonight, six years later, I got my candy -- all of it. Welcome, gentlemen, to the Inquirer! Make up an extra copy of that picture and send it to the Chronicle, will you please? It will make you all happy to learn that our circulation this morning was the greatest in New York, 684,000."

Read more: Speeches and Monologues

 

Sequence 4: The First Culmination

Screenwriting Script Tips
Just when we think the situation can’t get worse, it does. When we’re convinced there’s no possible way our hero can get out of a jam, he gets out, only to end up in a worse jam. Obstacles! These major hurdles are the glue to Act Two. Your character has recovered from the first obstacle, only now to face a higher one. This new obstacle leads to rising action: every move the character makes traps him even more. Be merciless! Really squeeze your character. Make him work hard to reach the first culmination. This is the midpoint of the screenplay and a pivotal plot point,…

Ten Dialogue Musts

Screenwriting Dialogue
In their book The Tools of Screenwriting, David Howard and Edward Mabley illustrate ten things the screenwriter must accomplish when writing dialogue:
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