You know your script could be great. Hell, you’ve already written your Best Screenplay acceptance speech. But let’s face it, if your dialogue sucks, so does your script. If your dialogue is expository, obvious, lacking nuance, overwritten or tonally off, it sucks. Most importantly, if it doesn’t sound real … it sucks! So, if any of this rings a bell, consider the following tips for writing authentic, snappy dialogue … that doesn’t suck.
Watch Movies
Read scripts by great screenplay dialogue writers like Richard Linklater, Quentin Tarantino, Aaron Sorkin, etc. What does their dialogue look like on the page? Is there a lot of white, or is it dense with prose? How much dialogue is there? Is it sparse and slow, or thick with machine-gun pacing? What about rhythm and cadence? Is dialogue nuanced with flubs, stutters, silences, etc.?
Stay True to Character
Think of each character in your script is a living thing – a person with different wants, needs, idiosyncrasies and natures. Ergo, they each should benefit from their own independent voice and point of view. She’s precise and condescending. He’s overly-apologetic and insecure. These two different sounding characters would create excellent dynamics within a scene.
Write Dialogue that Sounds Like Real Conversations
Tune in to that jerk chewing out the grocery-store clerk; then note how she takes him to the mat. Eves-drop. What about that couple at the bar, the businesswoman on the phone, those skateboarders and their lingo, YOUR FAMILY’S THANKSGIVING DINNER (!) Does everyone talk over each other? Is Uncle Paul pontificating with long pauses to stew in the sound of his own voice? What about your sister’s passionate argument with her boyfriend? Or your grandmother’s flaccid attempt at telling her crazy story about the rattlesnake in the church rectory.
The following are some devices, developed over numerous Thanksgiving turkeys, that will help bring a “realness” to your dialogue:
* Talking over each other.
* Two people carrying on about two different things at the same time.
* Interrupting.
* “Hijacking” sentences wherein someone takes over someone else’s thoughts. “You think you have it bad. You should hear about my blah blah blah.”
* Reaching for words and thoughts.
* Swearing.
When referring to his frustration over the prohibited use of the words “God dammit,” Aaron Sorkin laments, “It’s only in plays, movies and television that someone starts a sentence with ‘Dammit.’ No one ever in life says, ‘Dammit, how could this happen?’ They’ll say ‘God dammit.’ But it won’t begin with ‘Dammit.’ It also won’t end with dammit. ‘How could this happen, dammit!’
No, Bob Doesn’t Know
The all too familiar and overused, “As you know, Bob,” device boils down to one character telling another character something they both already know that we, the audience, don’t. It’s expository dialogue that functions as a convenience to the script, as opposed to allowing exposition to roll out organically from action or character. Assume audiences are smarter than we give them credit.
Take a Nuanced Approach
Nuance will help you avoid the issues you are having with Bob. Use things like subtext, implication and innuendo for more authentic, less expository dialogue.
In film, as in life, people often don’t say exactly what they mean. Says Shonda Rhimes, “Nobody says all the perfect things at all the perfect times.” Conversations aren’t always what we think they are about. Text is what we say, subtext is how we really feel.” Further, try to show subtext in action, as opposed to telling us in words. Allow the actors to act. He says, “Are you okay?” She responds, restrained, tense, “I’m fine.” Clearly she is not fine, but is holding back. With subtext, characters talk around what they mean, as opposed to saying exactly what they mean.
Play the Silences
While actions might speak louder than words, sometimes it’s the quiet moments, that say so much more. Silence is powerful. It’s an insinuation, an innuendo, an assumption. It’s a pause in conversation that brings weight to the words being said. You only need to watch THE CROWN to understand how the greatness of dialogue often comes from lack of dialogue.
Blah Blah Blah Yada Yada Yada…
How many times have you been stuck in the corner of a party making small talk. Well, if you hate making it in life, just imagine paying money to listen to it. Don’t get me wrong, stories or little anecdotes that seem to be irrelevant to the narrative can circle back around to be exactly what the film is about. But unless you are someone like Paddy Chayefsky or Aaron Sorkin, chances are you haven’t mastered this yet. And until you do, DON’T. Make sure your dialogue has some sort of purpose and meaning.. If it doesn’t, fix it or cut it
If it doesn’t push plot or reveal character…
YOU DON’T NEED IT!
And finally, the most effective way of writing authentic dialogue is to…
Listen to Your Dialogue
Read your dialogue out loud. Then have others read it out loud. And listen.
How does your dialogue sound? Is it clunky, obvious, stilted? Do your jokes fall flat? Is it on the nose? Are there repetitions? Do your friends think your dialogue sucks? Or worse, does your mom think it sucks?
Chances are your dialogue will not suck. Chances are, if you run through the above hacks, your dialogue will be realistic. In fact, your dialogue will most likely be great. So, pay attention, make it real, give it meaning, and have something to say. You’re a screenwriter. This is your job. Start talking!
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