7 Mistakes To Avoid For Screenplay Dialogue

Online, February 15, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Hey Everyone,

So if you are like me and about every other screenwriter out there then you know that dialogue is the "secret sauce" of any good screenplay. Think about it. Real and personal dialogue can make a high concept story really ring true to the reader and take your script to the next level. Check out these tips on what NOT to do.

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1. Too Much Dialogue

A script is not a play - your goal is NOT to have dialogue that looks like a bunch of monologues. Try to keep 95% of your dialogue to 3 lines or less on the page. Clever dialogue is found in quick back and forth exchanges, not prose-y speeches. Think about one of the best screenwriters known for his dialogue - Aaron Sorkin. Have you ever watched a scene from The West Wing? Here's an example. Now, it's not perfect by any stretch, but it illustrates the point that if you keep it snappy, it keeps it moving. And a fast moving script, like a fast moving story, is entertaining and - sometimes - it can move so fast that you don't have time to realize whether it's great quality or not. You just know you're entertained. So, use it to your advantage. Keep the dialogue short, quick back and forths, and you'll reveal plot and character just as quickly.

2. Lack of Subtext

When it comes to dialogue and subtext, never ever have a character come out and say what he is thinking or feeling. Brilliant characters have us discover/uncover what's going on inside their heads by their actions, or how they dance around important topics when they're talking - not how they address them head on.

3. Characters All Sounding the Same

A good exercise to fleshing out characters is to figure out what each character's super objective is. It sounds like a hokey term, but in essence you figure out what a character truly wants in life (not necessarily in the story). These are the big things, the ones in our very core - to love, to be loved, to be powerful, to be respected, etc.

4. Word Pictures / Visuals Within the Dialogue

As you know, great action lines have visuals that pop and succinct word pictures. Things that when we read it, we can quickly and easily see it in our minds. It's the difference between:

A. The notebook gets passed over the table

B. The bulging notebook slides across the table

When talking about action lines, it's obvious why and how to integrate word pictures. But what about dialogue?

5. Leaving the Obvious Out

This does go hand in hand with subtext, but it comes at it from a different angle. On its most basic level, it's when we as an audience are expecting a character to say something... and then they dont. Maybe they give a look, or say something else, or don't say anything at all, but we get it anyway.

6. Changing the Obvious Up

This one is pretty self explanatory, but it's about taking the audience expectations and turning them on it's head. For instance, if a female protagonist were to ask a male protagonist for his hand in marriage. While it's the 21st century, this hasn't been done too often in movies or TV yet, so it's unexpected.

7. Call Backs

When a character references something that was said earlier, either by themselves or another character, it's a call back. Sorkin's work is full of this, as is Mamet's and others. It's usually used as a way to inject humor, but it can definitely be used for dramatic effect as well. In the Sports Night clip earlier, Dana said "You're ruining my show" when she walked into Dan's office, and then again when she left. That's a call back.

source: ScriptMag.com

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Brandon back. Now, you all may know each of these points but the key is to making sure to use them. It's like a golfer that knows to keep his head down, but pops it up every time. It's in the doing, not the knowing.

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Later,

Brandon
HollywoodScreenwritingSecrets.com