DIALOGUE
Ever have anyone tell you that you have an ear for dialogue?
We’re here to tell you it means nothing.
It’s the most misleading comment a person can give you if your screenplay is not working. And if it’s the first comment you get, aside from ‘I loved it from start to finish’, or ‘I was floored by the story’, or ‘What an amazing ending’, you’re in deep doodie.
Your dialogue, like the rest of the elements of your script, has a job to do. Either your dialogue works or it doesn’t. It’s funny, or it isn’t. And if you do think you can write dialogue, don’t get lazy about it, because we all can fall into the trap of ‘writing pretty’.
Debates about dialogue begin much like debates about ‘method acting’ vs. ‘classically trained acting’. In general, classically trained actors begin their work ‘outside-in’, that is, through physical characterization, props, costume pieces, vocal/speech patterns and so on and so forth. The ‘Method’, of course, is an inside-out process, relying on pulling a performance from real memories, emotions, and sensations.
For some writers, the process of writing dialogue is almost like reverse-engineering a performance, imagining how the characters feel and think. For other writers, it’s all about the words, WHAT they say, and how they say it. Is either any more genuine? That’s for you to decide. But both are perfectly valid ways of beginning.
CONSIDER EVERYTHING
So now we’ve lobbed that open-ended ball at you. How are YOU going to start?
Since we’ve been going chronologically with these lectures, building your screenplay from the moment you have a nugget of an idea, let’s look at what you have already.
You’ve got your concept. Your characters. Your plot. You know where you’re heading and who’s coming with you. You might even have every single scene mapped out. So when you go in to write the scene, what do you do?
First and foremost, think about the action of the scene, and the wants of the characters. What is the scene doing in the
grand scheme of the film? Let’s say it’s the scene where the young man finally brings up the nerve to ask the girl out. (We pick this because this scene could be in any type of movie).
Now, where are they? This matters, you say? Of course it does. The environment your characters are in will greatly affect your dialogue. Are they alone in the park on a beautiful day? On a crowded train without any privacy? Is it in the middle of a monsoon and they’re not sure if they’re going to get out alive? (Love can happen in the strangest places.)
Now the want. Our hero decides, at this moment, to ask her out. He wants what:
To live happily ever after?
Or
For her to say yes?
For her to say yes? Good. Then you’ve retained something from the previous lessons and you are ready to let your
hero speak.
CONFLICT IN DIALOGUE
Now dialogue has two jobs. The first, to move along the scene, and the second, to show character.
Now, it’s really up to you to decide how much to let your characters breathe, and how much to ratchet up the conflict in the scene. But always err on the side of having SOME conflict, no matter how much or how little.
We cut from the previous scene to the young almost-lovers on the roof of a shack, barely above water. Tennis ball sized rain drops are falling all around them. Our hero turns to the girl and says:
HERO: You want to go out for some ice cream with me?
GIRL: Sounds great.
End of scene.
Kills any potential exchange for her to say yes, right? Even if you MEAN for her to say yes by the end of the scene, let some sparring happen…
HERO: You want to go out for some ice cream?
GIRL: You’re asking me NOW?
(Ah, now a chance to keep going.)
HERO: Why, don’t you like ice cream?
(Apparently we’re in a comedy.)
GIRL: I love ice cream just fine.
(She’s in the same comedy.)
HERO: Then if we live through this – ice cream?
GIRL: If we live through this, ice cream is not going to be the first thing I want from you…
And so on and so forth. Dialogue can be the most fun part of the ride. Just remember that you’re in control. Think about the movie, think about the story, think about the character’s want, and think about conflict every step of the way.
WHAT’S QUOTABLE?
One thing before we close today’s lesson…
We all want to be quotable. We all want to write a line (or a million lines) that people will be repeating as they walk out of the theater and into their cars, laughing about it as they drive home, and then going to work the next day so they can repeat the line to a coworker at the coffee machine.
There is no way to predict what will be quotable. In fact, the one quotable line in the filmed version of your script may not even be a line you wrote at all. It might be improvised by the actor, written in by the director, or by the producer’s 12-year-old niece who happens to be on set one day.
So don’t think about it. Write lines that have an effect on the characters. That can take your story to the next level. And it’s summer time. Treat yourself to an ice cream.