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This skill provides dialogue writing techniques for screenplays. Covers subtext, character voice differentiation, exposition handling, and the four purposes of dialogue (reveal character, advance...
Apply this skill when:
Every line should:
Ideally, each line does 2-3 of these simultaneously.
The meaning beneath the words. Characters rarely say exactly what they mean.
// Surface level only (BAD)
JOHN
I'm angry at you for lying to me.
// With subtext (GOOD)
JOHN
(quiet)
The coffee's cold.
Displacement: Talk about something else entirely
SARAH
Did you feed the cat?
JOHN
You know I always forget.
// They're talking about how he always lets her down
Deflection: Avoid the real subject
SARAH
We need to talk about last night.
JOHN
Have you seen my keys?
Contradiction: Say the opposite of truth
SARAH
Are you okay?
JOHN
Never better.
He won't meet her eyes.
Indirection: Circle around the point
SARAH
I saw the ring in your drawer.
JOHN
It was my mother's.
SARAH
It's beautiful.
JOHN
She would have liked you.
// Neither mentions the proposal
| Element | Range |
|---|---|
| Vocabulary | Simple ↔ Complex |
| Sentence length | Short ↔ Long |
| Formality | Casual ↔ Formal |
| Directness | Blunt ↔ Indirect |
| Humor | Dry ↔ Broad |
| Emotion | Reserved ↔ Expressive |
// Academic
PROFESSOR
The statistical probability of survival decreases
exponentially beyond the 72-hour threshold.
// Street
MARCUS
Three days, man. After that? You ain't coming back.
// Military
COMMANDER
Window's 72 hours. Then we write them off.
Audiences need information, but "info dumps" kill scenes.
Conflict: Characters argue about the information
JOHN
The company's been laundering money for years.
SARAH
That's insane. My father built this company.
JOHN
Then he built it on dirty money.
Discovery: Character learns with audience
Sarah finds the document. Her eyes scan it.
SARAH
(reading)
"Project Nightfall. Initiated 1985..."
(looks up)
This goes back forty years.
Need to Know: Character explains to someone who needs it
VETERAN
You're new. First rule: Never go below deck 5.
ROOKIE
Why? What's down there?
VETERAN
That's rule two. Don't ask.
Conflict of Interest: Information becomes ammunition
SARAH
I know about the money, John.
JOHN
(carefully)
What money?
SARAH
The hundred thousand in the offshore account.
The one you opened the week before you proposed.
SARAH
I loved you.
JOHN
I know.
SARAH
I would have done anything for you. Given up
everything. My career, my family, my future.
Everything.
JOHN
I know.
SARAH
I found the letters.
(beat)
JOHN
I can explain.
SARAH
Can you?
Long silence.
JOHN
No.
Indicated by -- for interruption:
SARAH
I just think we should--
JOHN
--Not now.
SARAH
But if we could just--
JOHN
I said not now.
Characters stating emotions directly.
// BAD
SARAH
I feel betrayed and hurt by your actions.
// BETTER
SARAH
(sliding off ring)
Here. I won't be needing this.
Unnecessary pleasantries.
// BAD
JOHN
Hello, Sarah. How are you?
SARAH
I'm fine, thanks. And you?
JOHN
Good, good. Thanks for meeting me.
// BETTER
JOHN
(seated, waiting)
You're late.
SARAH
(sitting)
You're lucky I came at all.
All characters sound the same.
Test: Cover character names. Can you tell who's speaking?
Characters make speeches instead of conversation.
Break long speeches with:
