5 Tips of Screenwriting Dialogue

5 Tips My College Screenwriting Professors Taught Me About Writing Dialogue

I studied screenwriting in college. As part of that education, I read spec scripts for a film studio and an agent. I also took tons of courses on story structure, formatting, and dialogue.

Let's talk more about that last one.

Unless we’re looking at a movie like Eraserhead, most films are predominantly composed of dialogue. There's an important reason for that: dialogue is one of the best tools at a screenwriter's disposal.

The same goes for those who write prose. Here are five key tips to remember about dialogue.

Contents:

1.    1. Focus on Subtext

2.    2. Illustrate Power Dynamics

3.    3. Establish Voice and Character

4.    4. Remember: People Rarely Say Exactly What They Want

5.    5. Make Sure Dialogue Serves Character, Plot, and/or Theme

6.    Summing Up

1. Focus on Subtext

Dialogue is sharpest when it works on multiple levels. That's the purpose of subtext.

Subtext in dialogue is when a character's stated words carry implicit meaning. In other words, there's a stated layer of meaning and a suggested layer of meaning just below that. Take, for example, some of the most famous movie lines of all time:

·         "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

·         "You're gonna need a bigger boat."

·         "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Each line carries meaning beyond the spoken words. When Dorothy utters our first line, she's really saying, "I think we've stepped into another world." When Chief Brody murmurs our second line, he's really saying, "That shark is huge." And when Rhett Butler says our third line, he's really saying, "I'm breaking up with you, Scarlett."

When reduced to their literal meaning, these lines of dialogue don't seem especially profound. But that's the power of subtext. With it, a writer expresses a simple thought in an interesting manner.

It's the difference between showing and telling. Just imagine if Don Corleone had said, "I'm gonna kill him if he doesn't do what I say" rather than, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." The former is boring. The latter is unforgettable because of its subtext.

2. Illustrate Power Dynamics

The way people talk to one another is often one of the best indicators of their relationship. For example, consider this exchange:

Tim: I really didn't mean to, it's just—

Kim: Didn't mean to? What good is "didn't mean to"? Does it reverse time and make this whole situation go away?

Tim: Well, no, it—

Kim: Didn't think so. Now get out there and start apologizing!

See the way Kim never lets Tim finish a sentence? That's an excellent way to illustrate Kim's authority in this conversation. Furthermore, notice how she uses Tim's words back at him? That's another trick to use in dialogue. With just four lines, we've shown that Kim’s in charge here. Let's look at another example.

Tim: What’s the situation?

Kim: So, um. Heh. I hate to say this, but…

Tim: Yes?

Kim: I, um. I got an email this morning, and…

Tim: And? And what?

Kim: And… we've got a problem.

In this scene, the power dynamics have flipped. Kim's authoritative tone is now far more uncertain, as illustrated by several ellipses and her "ums." Tim, on the other hand, is the one asking all the questions. Keep tricks like these in mind as you write dialogue.

3. Establish Voice and Character

You've heard the mantra that each character should have a unique voice, right? It's good advice, though I find it can be misleading at times. It doesn’t necessarily mean all your characters need a different accent or something. Rather, you should do your best to have each character's word choices and patterns of speech match their established traits.

Let's play a game. Two characters will describe the same basketball. Then we'll guess the personality and each character. Sound good? Let's get started.

Character #1: "What’s this? A firm, heavily inflated sphere with bands of black rubber about its orange exterior. Puts one in mind of a globe's lines of latitude and longitude, doesn't it? And this texture… marvelous. Like the dimpled goose-flesh raised by a cold wind. Truly a thing of beauty."

The way this character talks tells us a lot about her. Notice her word choices: "sphere," "exterior," "marvelous," "dimpled goose-flesh." She's an educated person, someone who likely reads and enjoys a lot of books. Her strongly literary comparisons further reinforce this point. After all, how many people look at a basketball and consider it anything more than a basketball?

Now let's see how Character #2 describes the same object:

Character #2: "Round, bouncy, smooth. Needs air. Wouldn't use it in a game but in my driveway, sure. Grip's fine. Good enough rock, I guess."

Through this character's dialogue, we get a much different impression. Her word choices are far more commonplace: "round," "sure," "good enough." This is an average person who's not all that interested in flowery adjectives. Furthermore, notice what she focuses on: the practical uses of the ball, not its appearance. She's far more interested in what she can do with it. Plus, slang like "rock" suggests she plays basketball.

This is the power of dialogue. When we're intentional about what our characters say and how they say it, we can illustrate their personalities to our readers.

4. Remember: People Rarely Say Exactly What They Want

When my wife and I watch Netflix together in the evening, she'll sometimes ask, "Do you like ice cream?"

Of course, she knows I like ice cream (two scoops of vanilla with chocolate sauce, please). But, in real life as in dialogue, people rarely say what they mean. When my wife asks if I like ice cream, she really means, "Can you get us some ice cream, please?"

My point with this anecdote is simple: in real life (and therefore in dialogue), people rarely say exactly what they want. This point relates back to subtext somewhat, yet I think it's important enough for its own subsection.

Dialogue is at its most engaging when its meaning isn't abundantly clear. Sure, there are times when characters need to say exactly what they're thinking to progress the plot. But in most instances, have your characters hint at what they want rather than outright ask for it.

5. Make Sure Dialogue Serves Character, Plot, and/or Theme

This is a lesson driven home in a screenwriting textbook I read for my studies. It's called Screenplay: Writing the Picture and it's by Robin U. Russin and William Missouri Downs. I highly recommend it to any writer, even those uninterested in screenplay (though you can skip the parts about formatting a script). Anyway, Russin and Downs sum up this point nicely in their book. They write:

"Screen dialogue serves three chief, simultaneous purposes: 1. It advances the story. 2. It reveals the characters. 3. It plays off of the visual world of the film."

In terms us prose writers can understand, that means dialogue must serve plot, character, theme, or any combination of those simultaneously. We've already covered how dialogue reveals character, so let's delve a little deeper into plot and theme.

Characters can advance the plot through dialogue in countless ways. One character might divulge essential information to another. Two characters might discuss their plan for the next scene before enacting it. One character might confront another about a previous fight, which sets up essential backstory that foreshadows future events. We've all read the methods many times.

Now for theme. Russin and Downs write, "...[Dialogue] reinforces or provides contrast to what we are actually seeing happen on the screen." Of course, a book doesn't have a screen. Yet both forms have theme. I believe that’s what they’re getting at here.

Theme is likely the trickiest element to address through dialogue. As writers, we want to explore our themes without delving into didacticism. Dialogue is a nice tool for the job—though it can feel more like a blunt instrument if a character sounds like a mouthpiece for the author's personal views.

For a successful example, consider Hamlet's "To be or not to be" soliloquy. Mortality is a driving theme of the play, and so Shakespeare has his character comment on this theme directly without it feeling overly preachy. Yet notice also how the soliloquy reveals Hamlet's character. Good dialogue serves one purpose at a time, but great dialogue serves many.

When writing, scrutinize each line of dialogue. Does it serve character, plot, and/or theme? If not, that line of dialogue must have a very good reason for being there.

3 Ways to Improve Dialogue In Your Script

Dialogue can deepen an understanding of characters and amp up a every aspect of a story. Paula Landry gives three clear way to improve dialogue in your script.

Dialogue can deepen an understanding of characters and amp up a every aspect of a story. Paula Landry gives three clear way to improve dialogue in your script.

If a picture paints a thousand words… close your eyes and imagine really expressive dialogue, instead.Summertime is a great time to drill down on a few specific skills to master them. Just like going away to band camp – where you can allot time for special projects, practicing a lot of scales or etudes, or learning new songs, Summer can be time an opportunity to FOCUS.

Screenwriters TIP – if you’re going to chose something to focus on, pick something that needs improvement. Working with students over the years in many different mediums, people gravitate toward working on what they do well. Resist that temptation, pick where you’re flailing, and do the hard work that’s uncomfortable and often embarrassing.

Dialogue is one of those things, that after plot, can really deepen an understanding of characters and amp up a every aspect of a story.

What is dialogue?

Dialogue can be a powerful tool to further our story, entertain and inform. An evocative way of speaking can vivid characters, which ultimately deepens our appreciation of a story. Dialogue reveals who these people are, in a visceral way.

What is effective dialogue?

Dialogue is an aural representation of a person. So when you read good screenplays, examine the dialogue and ask yourself, does it show who a person it at their essence, and how? Speech patterns convey, the words they chose, and the rhythm of their patter. By focusing and working on these three elements, manner of speaking, words selection, and their rhythm of talking, you can refine what your character says and how they say it.

As an exercise you can select one of your main characters and tweak dialogue, therefore, use the following 3 ways to improve your dialogue.

3 Ways to Improve Dialogue In Your Script

Examining each in detail of your favorite script:
1. Manner of Speech
2. Words and vocabulary
3. Rhythm of talking

What the sum total of these elements convey, which is showing, not telling – which is the key to effective script writing.

Dialogue shows (not tells)

Among the many things that dialogue offers us are the various keys to the person on their surface, as well as underneath that facade, family, past, job, education and so on. Often when you design your characters initially, you detail the following items in much detail. If you haven’t, you may find that your dialogue is bland with a flavor of same, same, same. You should be able to open up any page of your script, not read WHO is talking, but by what they say, know exactly who they are.

Ideally dialogue shows us the following:

• Personality Traits and Disposition (confident, sunny, open, shy, untrusting, thoughtful, bookish)
• Education
• Socioeconomic sensibility (White collar, blue collar, poor, middle class, upper class)
• Where you live or come from, accents, slang (region, geography, North/South)
• How you feel about yourself (deprecating, jokester, braggart)
• How you want others to feel about you – your job, social strata, your crowd – what’s commonly done, as well as your need to fit in.

Creating Examples

For fun, we could create a dialogue profile for a college English professor who studies folk history. Let’s call him Clayton Dustworthy. How might he talk?

1. Manner of Speech – dry, technical, long-winded
2. Words and vocabulary – long words, almost old fashioned
3. Rhythm of talking – drone-like, ask few questions and those only rhetorical

What does this dialogue show us? It informs us that he’s overly educated, among other things and probably as dull as a bag of moist hair!

So, on to Clayton, here’s what his dialogue will reveal:
• Personality Traits and Disposition (confident, sunny, open, shy, untrusting, thoughtful, bookish)
• Education - his mind is in books, not necessarily in the present, he’s probably somewhat retiring, fanciful, and bookish
• Socioeconomic sensibility (White collar, blue collar, poor, middle class, upper class) – upper class
• Where you live or come from, accents, slang (region, geography, North/South) - North East, retains a nasal manner of speaking from being born in Maine
• How you feel about yourself (deprecating, jokester, braggart) - he feels he’s fascinating and misses that he’s boring other people. He lives for anything J.R.R. Tolkien, has an obscure book collection and gets really excited when he can add new gnomes from historical book to his figurine collection, which he’s entitled ‘gnomes from tomes’
• How you want others to feel about you – your job, social strata, your crowd – what’s commonly done – he wants people to know he knows a lot, even if they couldn’t care less. In the academic hierarchy, he’s pretty low on the pecking order. He’s a rock star at places like the Renaissance Fair where he can show off his knowledge

In addition to a character’s actions and appearance, ask yourself what you can indicate about your character through dialogue more effectively than any other way. What do we need to know about this character as it relates to the plot?

Find Examples In Your Favorite Scripts

To better understand dialogue, I like to look at extreme examples, like Rain Man or Rocky,

Opening the door Rocky is taken aback when he sees a set of very flashy clothes. ROCKY (mumbling) ... These ain't my clothes.

ROCKY
Hey, how come I been put outta my locker?

If you look at select lines of Rocky’s throughout the script you get immediately who this guy is by his grammar, straightforward, no frills way of stating his mind. He doesn’t speak beautifully, but gets straight to the point – and he’s guileless, always speaking from the heart. Here are a few of his lines:

ROCKY
I said, how ya feelin'?

...Don't you never say that.

...You guys talk like that in front of a little girl -- You guys are scum.

...That doesn't matter -- You don't really have to be a whore, just act like one an' that's it.

ROCKY
Ya gotta be a little soft to wanna be a pug... It's a racket where ya' almost guaranteed to end up a bum.

ADRIAN
I don't think you're a bum.

ROCKY
... I'm at least half a bum.

Rocky’s verbal tics in his manner or speech– like uh, ya’, and often stating what he sees as facts about morality, reveal his blue collar status and street-wise upbringing, as well as minimal school education – but a thinking and thoughtful man.

Also, ethnicity can play an important role in speech. If they speak English as a second language, they may not have an accent, but instead flip nouns and adjectives sometimes, or use unusual words, due to their ongoing translating in their head.

Of course you will vary a character’s speaking within a script, however it’s a good bet that if you can tell, just by the dialogue, who is speaking, it will give you a sense that is distinct and varied between characters. Then have fun and use these 3 ways to strengthen your character’s dialogue and note how it deepens and enriches your story and the characters themselves.

Rock your writing!