How to Write Dialogue

when you think about dialogue you probably think about iconic one-liners you're gonna need a bigger boat or writers with great dialogue style you didn't have seconds you had three weeks the universe was created in a third of that time well someday you'll have to tell us how you did it on the flip side everyone knows bad dialogue when they hear it it can stunt a scene and pull you out of a movie from on the nose lines too long expositional monologues we've all heard it so how do you write good dialogue is it just a talent you're born with or can it actually be taught let's start by figuring out what dialogue actually is dialogue isn't a conversation dialogue isn't simply woody jokes or phrases it also isn't solely poetry or even music the purpose of dialogue is to move the story forward as characters use language to move towards their goal a character wants something and they need to talk to someone else to get it there really isn't any difference in using dialogue versus using physical action they're both just tools both should move the story forward through a character heading towards their goal it depends on the context and the type of story being told which determines what a character does to move towards their goal sometimes they may speak sometimes they may physically act dialogue should first and foremost be about context you should be focusing on why this scene is here in the first place before you're even worried about dialogue what do the characters want what do they believe how does this scenes existence move the story forward we know the answers to these questions not from writing dialogue but from building our characters building what they believe and building what they want dialogue in and of itself will never create a good scene not even the wittiest quickest most fun dialogue will ever make a great scene on its own David Mamet one of the best writers of stylistic dialogue said that when you're writing dialogue in a scene you should focus on three questions who wants what from who what happens if they don't get it and why now notice how these questions have nothing to do with the exact word choice or flow of dialogue they are about the story and how dialogue will move that story forward let's take a look at the opening scene of Steve Jobs written by Aaron Sorkin the screen says it's a nun implemented trap but the error code is wrong it's so what's the upshot it's not gonna say hello absolutely Steve Jobs talks to Andy Hertzfeld and Joanna Hoffman less than an hour before Apple's presentation of the Mac let's apply Mamet's questions to this scene Steve is the main character so first what does Steve want Steve wants the Mac to say hello in the presentation skip over the voice demo we need it to say hello you're not hearing me it's not going to say exit what happens if he doesn't get it Steve tells us in the dialogue why now Apple is about to reveal the Mac and take a great leap in the computing space the presentation is starting in less than an hour it must get done right now 26 people and a stringer from the Alameda County shoppers guy a lot of people are obsessed with Sorkin's flashy dialogue for the wrong reasons he writes beautiful dialogue and I love his films and television shows but his fast paced and snappy dialogue isn't the foundation of his stories and Sorkin knows this Sorkin uses a very similar method to Mamet's on how to start each scene I worship at the altar of intention and obstacle and I'm I'm trying to I'm just loading up on what those things are of what is the intention and obstacle and that's the that's the drive shaft of the car well somebody wants something something standing in their way of getting it and once you've built that then you can start to do the fun things that you like to do for me that's dialogue his dialogue rests on knowing his characters want and what is stopping them from getting it for example in this scene Steve Jobs wants the Mac to send Apple into the future as a leader in the computing market and is obstacle is that the Mac is failing to say hello minutes before the presentation Sorkin knows that without intention and obstacle his story will not work no matter how beautiful the dialogue is stylistic dialogue is simply a tool in the toolbox and you should think in the same way the beautiful part about knowing what your characters want and knowing the context of the scene is that your dialogue will flow much better once you have a grasp on why the scene exists now you know why your characters are talking and what they are talking about but here's the reality even if you follow Mamet's three questions or Sorkin's understanding of intention and obstacle you still probably won't be able to write like them it's an element of screenwriting that is based heavily on instinct but before you get discouraged that you probably won't be able to write like Sorkin I want you to pause and think about some of your favorite movies of all time do they all have amazing stylistic dialogue how much of the dialogue do you remember from most great films let's take a look at a scene that doesn't have flashy dialogue like Sorkin's but still works very well for the story this is a scene from zodiac written by James Vanderbilt adapted from the book by Robert gray-smith in this scene three investigators speak to a suspect who they think may be the Zodiac killer mr. Allen I'm inspector bill Armstrong as Inspector Dave darsky and Sergeant Jack Mullenix we're investigating the zodiac martyrs in San Francisco and Vallejo again let's apply ma'am it's three questions what do the characters want the investigators lead the scene and they all have the same want to find out whether or not Arthur Leigh Allen should be considered a serious suspect in the case what happens if they don't get it the investigators are looking for a dangerous serial killer if they don't find the right man more people will die the knives I had in my car with the blood on them that blood came from a chicken that I killed for dinner why now because they have finally found enough circumstantial evidence to warrant speaking with Allen direct the zodiac letters with his right hand producing a different handwriting that he can't and if we also apply Sorkin's method of intention and obstacle the three investigators want to find out whether or not Arthur Leigh Allen should be considered as a serious suspect but the obstacle is that Alan is cagey and gives them nothing all of the elements of a great scene are here the characters pursue what they want and what the investigators learn in the scene moves the story forward the dialogue isn't supposed to stand out and be flashy it's just supposed to work and serve the story and in a lot of ways maybe that's the best form of dialogue because stylistic dialogue can run away from you and take away from the most important thing telling the story just like great editing can be invisible maybe dialog can work the same way the reality is you don't have to write like Mamet or Sorkin or any of those writers some of the best dialogue is invisible understand what you're good at there are so many great films out there where you never really thought much about the dialogue yet you love the story anyways it's not that the dialogue was bad it just wasn't extremely stylistic it was just good dialogue a lot of what is taught about writing dialogue simply isn't practical everyone talks about constantly keeping subtext at the forefront of your mind while you write or they talk about knowing exactly how each line of dialogue has a particular emotional verb behind it like a tack or punish or pursue or they give all kinds of tips on avoiding exposition and dialogue and honestly I think most of this is worse than useless because that interrupts your flow of writing and it makes you overthink every single line as you push through the scene so what should you be focusing on when you go to write ultimately dialog comes down to two things focus on the purpose of the scene why are your characters here what does each character want what will happen here that turns the story and what or who is standing in the character's way focus on making your characters sound fluid and natural this happens by writing and writing a lot I can't teach you how to make character sound natural that only happens by writing a lot anything other than this and you start getting into unhelpful academic theory and unnecessary complexity trying hard to sound like Sorkin or Mamet or Tarantino will make your dialogue sound forced and inauthentic which is the last thing you want whatever style of dialogue you may have will come as you write if you're worried because you're not writing good dialogue but you haven't written a lot yet then I don't know what to tell you you have to write to see what you like and see what you don't like and then go from there same as anyone else in this video I didn't give a detailed analysis of subtext or specific word choice or all the other phrases and tips people like to throw around to make non writers feel intelligent and writers feel stuck and confused I found that when I'm writing dialogue simplicity is a necessity I can't hold five ideas in my head about exposition subtext verbally charge lines and diction while I also try to remember what the scene is about it's nonsense and it's confusing who wants what from who what happens if they don't get it and why now leave the rest in the classroom hello I hope you enjoyed the video if you did please give it a like and subscribe if you're a screenwriter looking to join a group of other writers to share ideas give and receive feedback and talk about the writing process then you should join the writers room on Facebook linked below and check out my guide to screenwriting where I go over the fundamental elements of screenwriting and storytelling thanks for watching

Channel: Tyler Mowery

Views: 296,542

Rating: 4.958961 out of 5

Keywords: film analysis, movie review, tyler mowery, nerdwriter, lessons from the screenplay, every frame a painting, screenwriting, script breakdown, writing, workshop, writing course, teach screenwriting, oscar best screenplay, film school, aaron sorkin, david mamet, how to write dialogue, can dialogue be taught, glengarry glen ross, the social network, steve jobs, screenplay, how to write a screenplay, how to write good dialogue, robert mckee, charlie kaufman

Id: O58WMS_qvb4

Length: 10min 57sec (657 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 12 2019