Archive for the ‘writing dialogue’ tag

12 Things That Can Hurt Your Dialogue

Here are 12 examples of things that can hurt your dialogue (thanks to a class I attended presented by Mr. Karl Iglesias)

1. Dialogue That Contains Too Much Exposition
Dialogue is often used as a tool to reveal necessary exposition. But when it’s presented in an awkward or obvious way it hurts the scene. Writers also need to be careful not to create scenes with chunks of expository dialogue or they risk losing the reader with information overload.

2. Dialogue That Is Too Direct
Dialogue that is too obvious and explicit is boring to a reader and an audience. Good dialogue is implicit, containing subtext and layers of meaning.

3. Dialogue That Doesn’t Sound Real
Good dialogue should flow smoothly and sound like a real conversation.

4. Dialogue That is Predictable
If the reader already knows what the next line of dialogue will be before reading it then the writing is too predictable. If one character says, “I love you” to another character, the reader wants the response to be something other than “I love you, too.”

5. Characters That All Sound The Same
When a writer develops his characters fully, they will each have a distinctive voice. When reading the dialogue you should be able to cover the names of the characters and know who is speaking.

6. Dialogue That is Too Long
Long speeches and chunks of dialogue can weigh down a script and slow the pace of the story. Good screenplays usually have one or two major speeches for the protagonist – the rest of the dialogue should be short and lean.

7. Dialogue That Repeats What Has Already Been Shown
If the audience has already seen something they don’t need to be told it again through dialogue. Never repeat.

8. Dialogue Where Characters Talk About Nothing
There is no room for small talk in a screenplay. The following exchange is a waste of space –  “Hi”, “Hello”, “How are you?”, “I’m fine. How about you?” “I’m good.”

9. Dialogue That Sounds Contrived
Using formal speech with perfect grammar creates artificial dialogue that calls attention to itself and takes the reader out of the story.

10. Dialogue Where The Characters Repeat Names
Most people don’t refer to each other by name every time they speak. “Mary, hi” “Bob, how are you” “Well, Mary I’m doing fine.” “That’s great Bob!”

11. Dialogue That Contains Too Many Filler Words
Filler words dull the dialogue. Try to avoid using well, so, you know, by the way, anyhow, look, as I see it, nevertheless, I mean….

12. Dialogue That Includes Strange Spellings to Indicate Pronunciation
Using phonetic spellings is frustrating for a reader. It slows the reading process and makes the dialogue difficult to decipher. When you’re trying to capture the texture of regional speech or a character’s way of talking, focus on speech patterns (like fragmented sentences), and the characters use of expressions, jargon and slang to convey the character’s voice – and not on phonetics.

YOUR TURN: What are other things that can hurt dialogue and how do you avoid them?

6 Ways To Create Subtext In Your Dialogue

Subtext; implicit meaning.

Subtext in dialogue reveals meaning without the character saying it directly. We all know the meaning behind the famous line: “Go ahead, make my day” (Sudden Impact) without the character explicitly stating what he thinks or means.

Subtext is a key element of great dialogue. Subtext engages the reader, allowing him to actively experience the scene. It challenges him to become involved in the conversation (rather than sitting back passively and being spoon-fed direct dialogue by the screenwriter.)

Subtext is truthful speech. In real life, people rarely speak directly to one another because there is too much at stake. It’s the same for film characters – they have too much to risk emotionally by being direct. In each of your dialogue scenes, consider why your characters are in conflict and what they have to lose by directly revealing what they’re thinking or feeling. In this scene from Unforgiven both characters find it too painful to speak plainly:

DELILAH
Them other two, they been takin’ advances on the payment.

MUNNY
Advances?

DELILAH
Free ones.

MUNNY
Free ones?

DELILAH
Alice and Silky gave them…free ones.

MUNNY
(understanding, embarrassed)
Oh. Yeah.

DELILAH
(timid)
You want… a free one?

MUNNY
(looking away)
Me? No. No, I guess not.

DELILAH
(covering her hurt)
I didn’t mean… with me. Alice and Silky, they’ll give you one… if you want.

Here are six ways to use subtext in your dialogue:

1. Use Action As A Response
If a character tells another “I love you”, the response could be: a slap to the face, going back to reading the morning newspaper, walking out of the room, or a confused stare.

2. Change The Subject
Have the character evade a direct response, such as in this scene from Basic Instinct:

CATHERINE
She’s helped me understand homicidal impulse.

NICK
Didn’t you study it in school?

CATHERINE
You know all about homicidal impulse, don’t you Shooter? Not in theory – in practice.

3. Imply the Meaning, Instead of Directly Stating It
Craft the dialogue so the reader has the opportunity to engage and evaluate its meaning. An example of this is the famous line from the Godfather: “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

4. Use Metaphors
From Silence of the Lambs: “You fly back to school now little Starling… fly, fly fly.” And from Wuthering Heights: “Two souls as different from lightning as frost from fire.. but thoughts are like tyrants that return again and again.”

5. Use Words or Phrases That Have a Double Meaning
Here’s an example from the film Shakespeare In Love

WILL
I have lost my gift. It’s as if my quill is broken. As if
the organ of my imagination has dried up.
As if the proud tower of my genius has collapsed.

6. Answer a Question With a Question
This technique is often used when a character has something to hide or doesn’t feel comfortable stating it directly. From the film As Good As it Gets:

SIMON
Mr. Udall… excuse me, have you seen Verdell?

MELVIN
What’s he look like?

YOUR TURN: How do you incorporate subtext into your dialogue?

12 Characteristics of Great Dialogue

William Goldman said, “Dialogue is among the least important part of a screenplay.”

Yep, he’s right. Character development and story structure are far more valuable elements of a script than dialogue. Film is visual. Of course, good dialogue is an essential element of a successful screenplay. But the best crafted and most witty dialogue won’t make a good film if the other components are missing. Great screenplays tell the story with as little dialogue as possible (unless you’re Quentin Tarantino), so each word of dialogue needs to be the best it can be.

Creating effective dialogue is challenging for many writers. But crafting good dialogue is a skill that can be mastered by anyone (it just takes some of us longer than others to get there.) The best way to learn is by analyzing good dialogue. View a few of your favorite well-written films, or better yet read the screenplays, and note what techniques the writers use to create compelling dialogue.

Here are 12 characteristics of great dialogue to get you started:

1. Fits the genre – thriller film dialogue is visceral and terse, dialogue in comedy scripts is witty and funny, and epic adventures contain language that is heroic and grand. “At my command, unleash hell” (Gladiator)

2. Fits the specific scene – for instance, if the scene is driven by conflict the dialogue presents opposing objectives.

3. Defines character – the way characters speak reveals their background, lifestyle, education, personality, values, and attitudes. Erin Brockovich: “They’re called boobs, Ed”

4. Reveals motivation – can provide a glimpse of why a character does what he does.

5. Demonstrates relationships – characters may speak differently to each character they come in contact with, revealing the relationship between the characters. A character may talk one way to his daughter, another way to his best buddy, and yet another way to his boss.

6. Foreshadows – hints at future events and reminds the reader what is at stake

7. Reflects emotions – showing how a character feels, rather than telling

8. Has emotional impact – evokes a response from the viewer, such as laughter, sadness, curiosity, tension, or anticipation.

9. Is active and serves a purpose – good scenes often involve one character trying to get something from another in an active and purposeful manner, for instance through seduction, force, confrontation, negotiation, coercion, warning, provocation, etc.

10. Sounds real – as if the characters were actually speaking (not to be confused with real life speech, which tends to be repetitive and contains unnecessary words)

11. Moves the action forward – besides serving a purpose for the character in the scene, good dialogue advances the overall plot of the story.

12. Is unpredictable – it’s interesting, witty, sharp and unexpected. Princess Leia: “I love you”, Han Solo: “I know.”

YOUR TURN: What other elements constitute great dialogue?