Screenwriting : How do people write period dialogue? by Cherie Grant

Hi Cherie. Yes, I love John Logan's work too! I believe he writes such amazing period pieces because of his background as a poet, playwright, and as an avid historian who is known to be fanatical with his research—doing nine months of research for a play and then writing it in two weeks. So, my two cents, keep digging. There's much on the Victorian era. Could you find other books, newspapers, or personal letters written from that time? Is there a historical society you could reach out to? Or use various university libraries and guides. Hope that helps some. ;)

Cherie: A lot depends on who your characters are and what colloquial words and expressions they're were using. When I wrote a western I did some research on slang from that period. For example, I enjoyed some of the colorful language used by the characters in Tombstone. And, for my period piece set in the Antebellum Five Points district of New York, I used some Irish Colloquial dialogue. For my upper crust characters, I used what I call Jane Austen/BBC speak. For example, Andrew Davies is masterful at writing that style, which he used in P & P and most recently, War and Peace. But don't get too hung up on making it perfect. And, I'd try to stay away from dialect because that can be irritating to read. If you're doing something Victorian, there are a lot of films out there, so I'd check out scripts from ones you like such as Logan's work.

Cherie: I agree with everyone above, and John Logan certainly is a favorite. I do a lot of historical fiction and there are many resources online to help with period phrases and syntax, etc. I was researching yesterday both late 19th century vocabulary as well as that of the Old West and found some great resources online. First person accounts or works written during the time period you are using are a great resource for vocabulary and syntax as well.

Sorry, Cherie, the university link I provided is username protected so I removed it. But... nonetheless, educational entities are great resources. Most of these writers mentioned in this thread do extensive research so their work provides great examples. However, pushing past the surface and delving in yourself (in my opinion) certainly helps to inform your writing and increase your understanding, not just for dialogue but how life truly was at the time. Ah, research. Something I'm doing today. Best to you! :)

Look for collections of published old letters from the era.

Screen dialogue isn’t really how people speak.

Record someone talking and you’ll hear all the ummmms, arrrs and hmmms that we never put in our dialogue.

Write how you want it to sound. Find a few aspects and use that. Writing accurate period would probably be unreadable and an actors nightmare.

Cherie - the simple answer is research. You're in Australia, I'm over here in Ory-gun and while it's true that we both speak 'English'; there is no way that I could write Australian dialog in a script without an awful lot of research and an Aussie co writer - could you write dialog for an American Trapper? Be careful too of the words you use. In the 1890's the dreaded 'N' word was common but I suggest avoiding its usage nowadays.

My Stolen Kingdom novel re the 1891 overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii has some three or more research years behind it.

You may be able to find some contemporaneous philology publications, which should include words, phrases and colloquialisms that would have been in common use for the place and era. Be mindful that resources like newspapers, books, legal docs etc. usually censored swears and other "graphic" content, so they may not give the fullest picture of common speech and/or subject matters that, while sensitive, certainly weren't unknown or discussed. Social class also needs to be taken into account... For instance, swearing was far more common among the working classes and would have been censored or used minimally in "polite society". Consider your characters and their backgrounds when writing your dialogue. I read your logline, so I'd love to read the script when you're ready to put out into the world... It sounds right up my alley. ; ) Best of luck and happy writing for now!

Hi Cherie. I guess I took the easiest route for THORN TREES (TV series pilot set in 1590s England)--an original idea of mine--by seeking a screenwriter here at Stage 32 who has an expertise in the time period (plus Paganism, and what we in our time period call Wiccans/witchcraft practitioners--the protagonists in your series as well based upon what you posted about the series). I'm so happy that Jacob responded to my search. Originally, my plan was to co-create and co-write it, but I ended up turning over the screenwriting entirely to him. We work very well together and I'm released from so many years of being buried in research. Many people enjoy such activities, but not me. Honestly, I'd go mad.

Cherie Grant If you want my humble opinion on this, unless you can talk to someone who lives in London and get there help on the dialogue, the best you can do is work with what you do have. Personally, as far as making dialogue really good, just write what works for the character. If what they are saying and the way they are speaking is not fitting the character, just don't do it. Be logical in their verbal responses to what goes on around them and the dialogue becomes more natural.

The every few people who have seen my work have often told me that something I have done rather well is my dialogue. It shows character, builds tension, and resembles the characters themselves. Every word, every sentence, every remark belongs in the story. Even with a small line for the sake of amusement, the quote still stays in tune with who the character is.

As for a "period piece"? No idea what that is. I will have to google that here in a moment. Might have an extended reply when I get back if I have any advise to share. In the meantime, good luck.

Cherie Grant Just looked up the definition of a period piece. My advise remains the same, 100%. Even if you can not get close to historically accurate, the least you can do is do justice to your characters. Best of luck friend!

Ok, thanks, guys. I have done quite a bit of research and I have some VERY THICK BOOKS to wade through. I really don't like wasting too much time on research though. I have grown up on period BBC shows and movies so I am familiar vaguely with the time period and place. But when I read some other people's work I think damn, where'd you find those examples? I am ready to show my 1st draft so I'll post it up soon and anyone who wants a peak can. I have already sent to one local prod co that has an international database. So the may not be interested, but someone else might find it. Who knows? Entering comps this year and paying for feedback. We'll see if ppl are happy with my attempt. Appreciate the well thought out replies.

Oh and someone asked why I said books of the time aren't much help. Well, they were very censored and polished like books today are. I'd prefer real life transcripts of how people spoke to polished novels. Otherwise, I'm really copying some other authors interpretation of language. That just feels weird.