Dialogue – An Often Forgotten Asset That Can Make All the Difference in Your Script

Dialogue in your script matters. And yet, based on the two hundred or so scripts I’ve read so far this year, it’s an aspect of writing that is woefully misunderstood, disrespected and under-utilized. I shall now attempt to convince you why dialogue is crucially important, and offer some suggestions on how you can improve your skills immediately.

First step – understand what dialogue ISN’T.

It isn’t used to blurt out in literal detail what a character is thinking. No: ‘I’m hungry’.

It isn’t used to explain a character’s backstory. No: ‘Gosh Billy, as the runner up in the 2012 Oklahoma State Spelling Bee Championships, followed by a descent into drug and alcohol abuse that ended your marriage and left you estranged from your daughter Pixie, I’d have thought you would want to travel with me back to your home town to reunite with them and see if you can rebuild your life and get back to spelling again.’

It isn’t there for logistics. No: ‘I think I’m going to go the aquarium and see if I can find that orange fish that stared at me and made me realize I could go swimming again, and then I’ll get a coffee and probably go to Roger’s house to watch a movie.’

And it definitely isn’t there for a character to tell you exactly what they are feeling. No: ‘If we enter the enchanted forest of Glorbon with only one shield of destiny, I fear I may be eaten by the Toksaur and will never see Princess Barbara again, which makes me quite sad. But that Toksaur ate my brother so my vengeful rage is stronger.’

Dialogue is not to be wasted. If you have a waiter saying ‘would you like still or sparkling water’ and that decision isn’t revealing something powerful about a character – stop reading this and go delete it now. 

Good dialogue makes your script more fun to read, to act in, and just plain better. Dull, under thought dialogue deflates a reader, makes the script a slog to finish, and pretty much ruins its chances of success…no matter how potentially amazing the story might be. And yet too often a writer won’t spend anywhere near the same time on the talking bits, as they do on the science fiction/world building/story structure bits.

Dialogue can make a supporting character ‘pop’ – which should be a priority in your pages. Supporting characters are opportunities to brighten up a script. Or add to the mystery, intrigue or drama. Sometimes an Oscar winning Supporting Actor will only have a handful of lines in the entire movie. But those lines are GOLD, and made the movie infinitely better. Dame Judi Dench’s 8 minutes of screen time in Shakespeare in Love, I’m looking at you.

So how the heck do you improve your dialogue skills? The good news, it’s a skill that can be honed with practice and a bit of thought, and two annoying little catchphrases. The first: “Keep It Simple Stupid” or “K.I.S.S”. The second: “Less is More”.  And maybe we can throw in a side order of “When in Doubt, Leave it Out.”

Have a look at a scene in your script. Any scene. Write down what you hope that scene conveys – what new information about a character it reveals, or how it moves the story along. Once you know your scene goals, and what characters are in it – go ahead and write the horrible version. Have every character say exactly what’s on their mind, or whatever information you want to share with the audience. Be obvious, unsubtle, dull, and literal. Get it out of your system. Then read it to yourself – out loud - and take a moment to cringe. If you don’t react, read it to a friend/family member and watch them cringe.

Start experimenting with less words, and with carefully selected words, taking into consideration how humans communicate. How often we don’t say what we mean, but we imply things, or hide behind humor, or say everything but what we need to say. How can you engage an audience of strangers, and deliver the required information in interesting ways? Look at every single word. Is there a more interesting alternative? If there’s a supporting character in your scene, could they use language in a different way? Does someone like to use puns to avoid conflict? Or do they struggle to find words…so there are quiet gaps leading to frustration? Does the audience absolutely positively NEED to know everything I want to say in this scene, or can they make do with just enough information to keep them curious?

If you’re giving a character more than 3 lines of uninterrupted dialogue…don’t. Unless they are giving a speech or a monologue and you get one per script. Here’s a handy tip I learned from my TV News writing days – we speak on average about 3 words per second. If you have a character speaking 100 uninterrupted words – you might think that’s OK – but that’s 30+ seconds of screen time. Which is TOO MUCH. I can almost guarantee they don’t need to be talking that long, and what they’re saying ain’t worth that much time.

If someone asks a question – you don’t need a ‘yes or no’ answer. 'Will you go to the prom with me Veronica?' 'Ahh, I think I’m washing my hair that night.' 'Was it you I saw in the room where Alex was murdered?' 'You’re crazy'.  Also, no need to repeat a question in the answer. 'Should we go swimming?' 'I don’t want to go swimming, it’s too cold.' Nope. Just the last bit works.

Once you’ve done the work on one scene as mentioned above, apply the same detail and care to every scene, and every word out of every character’s mouth. Because every word informs the audience. Every turn of phrase, every pause, every breath. And remember, sometimes what we don’t say is more powerful than words. Respect and appreciate dialogue. Don’t fear it, lean into the exciting opportunities playing with language offers…and I promise you’ll have a shorter, far more compelling script in no time.