I'll presume this has been done already but may as well start a fresh thread. I'm wondering if there are any books specific to learning how to write good dialogue. I know, and I hear ye already, 'the dialogue is not important, it's the format' 'just listen to people', 'write what you know', 'get the script formatting done first'.
Lets imagine that the premise, the character dev, orchestration, unity of opposites, conflicts, transitions, formatting, structure and resolutions are all by the book but the dialogue sucks. It's all on the nose. Who has written the book than can help open the writers eyes to entertaining dialogue?
Paul Joseph Gulino did some brilliant video's on film courage about dialogue that has changed my writing for the better permantly. I could go in depth about it as I have a mirriad of notes - ok for example if dialogue is on the nose and boring use Irony and Ironic flip. Arin Sorkin would be a master of this.
With just a few simple tools this man has turned my writing on it's head for the better. So.. any recommendations for this kind of book, or has it been written?
Good suggestion. If there is a dialogue guru amongst us.
I think you have hit the nail on the head. Dialogue is the art. You can’t (someone will now do it tomorrow) write a book that makes a formula out of art.
My technique is to make as many things actions as possible and only use words when needed.
For example, he says “I love you” or does he lazily run his hand across his wife’s bum as he passes - he just needs to touch her. They both display love and passion, but one (in my opinion) is in the nose dialogue.
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I don't rely on books, a character has to come across as real. Example: a woman is taking a shower. What is she doing? Does she sing, listen to music while taking the shower. What kind of character she is determines the language & contractions, that's going to fit her personality. A street thug isn't going to speak the same way a lawyer does. I create a profile for each character, then take it from there.
If the dialogue is on the 'nose', then you have to learn how to use subtext. Eventually, also theme. Your dialogue will always be on the nose until you understand subtext and theme.
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How about Robert McKee "Dialogue"?
Hi Ekaterina. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not a fan after reading Joe Eszterhas' books. He's a fake guru but if there's some jems in there might be worth reading - and after looking it up - may be worth a punt. Thank you
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I literally added a page on writing better dialogue to my Turn & Burn Screenwriting Guide this week. You can read it here.
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Some gold in there CJ. Some nice flips. Even technical suggestions like that can turn boring dialgue into a quick realisation of character. Love it
I've heard this advice from industry execs a few times: go listen in on real people and bring a notebook and WRITE WHAT THEY SAY. it's fun! Dialogue, in my opinion, is the most important aspect of a screenplay. You can have the dumbest story in the world, but if the dialogue is snappy the reader will love it! That said, you gotta give yourself a break. some people are world builders. Some people are theme and internal character arc emotional gurus. Some people just kill it with witty dialogue. Just keep writing, taking classes (the Stage32 Webinars are afforadable and there is a HUGE BANK - I highly recocmmend), and join a writer's group (I love the stage32 Writer's room). Get eyes on your script. Get friends to do a table read. and no matter what ALWAYS read your script out loud to yourself.
Interesting point of view. The problem with that statement - the executive one - is that the suits have zero idea how the functions of script writing work. I spent 20 years trying to direct and only recently started studying script writing. What I found out is that writing what you hear people say is boring. Cinematic dialogue needs to be seductive, it's an insdider cliché, it needs to lyrical. There's few people you can listen to and get the juice, Conor mcGregor being the exception. In shot. The suits know less than you do and I know for a fact that what I've studied and found out in the last two years is a wealth of knowledge in the fundementals of story. Even if my writing is shit it will not be a shit as an execs.It's like a guy who has trained two years in MMA going up againsdt a guy with no training. Now when it comes to buiness and making money, well then you're in for a fight. Don't listen to the suits when it comes to script writing. They know the lingo but they are winging it every single time.
table reads, table reads, table reads. I think my dialogue is great, and then... BAM ... an actor reads it and I can hear the cringe.
I think it all comes down to characters. The better you know your characters, the deeper you go into who they are the better the dialogue will be. AND subtext, yes. Even if you analyze how you yourself talk to people can be a study in dialogue. How you talk to your boss, whom you like or abhor, how you talk to your kids, your spouse. What do you leave out? How do you negotiate your relationship and it’s issues? How carefully do you chose those words. Save is true of your characters. I agree with table reads, do them, a lot! If the actors are faltering over it, something doesn’t ring true.