How To Write Great Dialogue

conflict is like the catalyst to compelling dialogue you can have great dialogue in the scene without it but dialogue will almost always be better with it it's no coincidence that the most iconic lines of dialogue are the ones at the highest moment of conflict it's blade runners tears in the rain gladiators I will have my vengeance Silence of the Lambs I ate his liver or the social networks you don't have my full attention you have the minimum amount if you want to find a list of the most iconic dialogue in movie history you'd find that most of those lines are delivered at a point where two opposing forces are clashing with tremendous tension now there are several qualities that make up good dialogue and where better to start than purpose it is an objective fact that if a line of dialogue does not serve a purpose it is guaranteed to be bad dialogue now purpose can be served in many ways it could be exposition Airy or serves characterization it furthers the plot or makes the viewer laugh there are a million and one ways a line can serve purpose but one thing is certainly clear every line needs to serve at least one and the mark of a great writer is writing dialogue which serves several purposes all at the same time take this example from Lord of the Rings [Applause] now what purpose does this dialogue serve well firstly it tells exactly how Bilbo feels about the other hobbits in his neighborhood provided the viewer can unravel the cryptic nature of its phrasing but it also tells us about Bill those character he's cheeky he enjoys throwing out riddles knowing almost nobody will figure them out so he's a person who enjoys making other people confused and it gives us the impression that he's quite witty as well as being quite socially awkward this one line serves a variety of purposes and it serves them well so it's a great line of dialogue but what is an example of dialogue that fails in this aspect where it is truly devoid of any meaning yeah can I have a dozen red roses please oh hi Johnny I didn't know what you how much is it it'll be $18 Oh keep the change hi doggie you're my favorite customer thanks a lot bye now analyzing why the room is a terrible movie is like kicking a legless armless defenseless man while he's facedown in a puddle it's uh it's not exactly hard but this is a great example of what happens when dialogue or just a whole scene serves no purpose it's hilariously bad because it's just so boring because when you have dialogue that does nothing for a story your scenes will look a hell of a lot like this one so you really shouldn't be doing it unless you're actively trying to make a terrible movie in which case knock yourself out preferably literally no purpose is all well and good but even a purposeful line can be a terrible one take this for example a day has gone by one I haven't thought of you I'm in agony I thought of not being with you I can't breathe I'm haunted by the kiss that you should never have given me my heart is beating hoping that that kiss will not become a scar now what is the purpose this dialogue surfs well it tells us Anakin loves Padme and as an exchange of dialogue it's well forgive my French its [ __ ] because Greek dialogue is far more nuanced than just the purpose it serves this example is not only unnatural because it feels incredibly inauthentic like no human being would ever actually say those words but that's a topic we'll touch on later in this video but it also likes a critical quality that makes good dialogue well exactly that and that's subtext now if you were to ask me subtext is by far the most important quality that makes good dialogue it's also by far the hardest part to master simply put subtext is the difference between what a character says and what a character means I've no doubt you've heard the phrase on the nose thrown around whatever we see a particularly clunky line of look when the we as an audience use the phrase on the nose what we're really trying to say is it's a moment that lacked the subtext it needed and let's come up with an example to explain this concept so let's say you have Steve and Joe Steve has just found out his father has died so Joe says Steve are you alright to which Steve replies I'm fine now of course Steve isn't really fine his dad just died what he's really saying is I'm not alright in fact I feel terrible but I don't want to talk about it that right there that is the subtext of that line when he says I'm fine now this example really is the most generic example of subtext that you could find but it's a good example to demonstrate the concept so simply put subtext is the show Don't Tell rule apply to dialogue as a definition subtext is what the character is really saying - the words they speak so when a character says exactly how they feel so I am really angry at you or I am really sad right now I want a hug said lines can feel jarring because they lack that subtext or as the layman would say it they feel on the nose you can't just have your characters announce how they feel that makes me feel angry and I think a fantastic example of subtext done well is Hannibal's and Clarice's exchange in Silence of the Lambs for the entire exchange they're talking about the serial killer Buffalo Bill about Clarice's person Hannibal's paintings and a myriad of other topics but really the topics aren't what the characters are discussing because the whole exchange is really a power struggle the characters are having a battle of wits trying to achieve dominance over the other to manipulate them the conversation is not a conversation it's more so a chess game of the two moving their pieces trying to achieve a checkmate to make the other bend to their will and the fact that they are trying to achieve power over the other is never explicitly said but it is heavily implied by the camera angles and the way the dialogue is written in this case the subtext isn't just in one line but it's the entire scene as well and if you wanted to find the polar opposite example one of subtext done poorly well a fantastic example would be this infamous line from interstellar love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space now many dislike this line and they disliked it for a simple reason because this is a notion that needs to be delivered with subtext as any theme should be but the problem with this line is its Nolan's straight up saying to the audience hey did you know the thief this movie is love that's the problem with this line it's telling the view of the themes of the movie in an on the nose way when really such things should be delivered with subtlety this on the nose message broke the illusion of reality for some viewers because it was a little too messer this actually is a common floor newer writers often fool for they will tell instead of show across the board this applying to dialogue they will abandon subtext and say exactly what the characters mean on the nose not necessarily because they're bad at writing but because they let confidence in it thinking that the themes and the ideas might be just too subtle so the viewers might miss them so they might assume the audience lacks the intelligence to see through the lines this of course doesn't really make very very entertaining experience for the audience if anything it results in a patronizing one now none of this is to say that dialogue needs subtext in order to be good I mean subtext is great but look at this example me I it's an iconic line arguably one of the most iconic lines in movie history and it also just so happens to have zero subtext it's exactly what it says on the tin it's just like anything when it comes to storytelling the rules are just guidelines and sometimes the most entertaining examples are the ones who break those rules now there's a common myth floating around the writing scene that good dialogue needs to be realistic the truth is that's not entirely wrong however it is bad advice to give because if a newer writer went around and took that advice at face value their dialogue would have become unbearably dull the point being great dialogue makes the audience think it's authentic when in reality if it is truly authentic is almost guaranteed to be bad dialogue okay that's a lot of process so let's break it down if you were to sit at a dinner table or somewhere in public and listen to a conversation in attempts you learn about dialogue you realize something if you transcribes an everyday conversation into a manuscript it would almost definitely make for incredibly dull copy this is an incredibly important distinction conversation is not dialogue the two are entirely separate things the real sweet spot that all great dialogue writers hit is they write dialogue that feels so real to the audience that they believe it to be authentic even though there is very little real about it now that dialogue is iconic it's fantastic but how often do you see real people get so mad at a person they point a gun at them and start reciting Bible verses now if the answer to your question is often then please tell me where you live because I want to go live there but in a well-done script you'll find the characters to be so much more witty than real people there are no arms or earth or point the segues a real conversation is like a winding river taking twists and turns and often listening off into entirely new streams often lacking direction often a conversation is never even completed because the topic moves on to something entirely different before a conclusion is reached but a good dialogue exchange is like a train track to the point efficient and even when your characters go on tangents that all serves the master purpose of the scene and builds towards that final resolution take the opening of inglourious basterds for example hands Lander is hunting down a group of jews and is interrogating the farmer to see if he is hiding them in the middle of the scene han stops talking about the war and goes on a random tangent about rats completely unrelated to the purpose of his visit until the conversation flows further and it turns that he is likening rats to jews and his saying howl by analyzing the behavior of vermin he can become a better hunter this plays a part in the outcome of this scene because he says that rats hide beneath the floorboards which just so happens to be exactly where the Jews are hiding even then in a scene where you might think there is a pointless tangent it is exactly the opposite and is incredibly relevant the ability to do them the ability to have tangents which make the exchange feel real because those kind of segues happen in real life but then having those tangents fold back into line and serve towards the master purpose of the scene so in doing that you deliver that punchy purpose of good dialogue and also generate a sense of authenticity now that's great writing and it's something Tarantino is a master and I would talk about it more but I've already done that video but I think a great way to distinguish dialogue from reality is this you know what it's like when you're arguing with a person the argument finishes and then five minutes later you slap yourself because you just thought of the perfect witty response to the conversation that's already over well in dialogue there is no five minute thinking time the very second someone says something that witty response that takes most of us a good few minutes to think of comes straight out 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 again nobody in the real world speaks like that because nobody is that clever to reply with witties with such ease and immediacy but damn if it doesn't make for crisp listening and if it isn't entertaining like nothing else now maintaining the illusion dialogue is real conversation is really a must in any kind of story whether it be a drama or romance or a horror or anything in between but there is one genre and only one genre where that rule of the realist illusion can be broken and that's comedy that's one of the key differences between a comedy and pretty much every other genre in every other genre that veil that illusion of realism has to be maintained because if it's not the film will be less entertaining for it but in comedy immersion is not the priority rather it's the pursuit of creating comedy any rule can be broken if doing so generates a genuinely funny moment this can mean creating bathos or adhering to the most generic of tropes like having a character who does nothing but deliver exposition and in a self-aware joke calling him basil exposition I suggest you don't worry about this sort of thing and just enjoy yourself that goes for you all yes it could mean breaking the fourth wall or breaking any number of cinematic standards as long as doing so creates good comedy this all breaks the realist illusion but it also makes the film a better one take this clip from 22 Jump Street the sequel to 21 Jump Street I can't believe the Koreans wanted church back yeah I mean good thing there was even bigger abandoned Church directly across the street yes now this dialogue is the opposite of realistic it's completely meta and breaks the fourth wall by poking fun how they're moving one address down the street it accordance to the change in the film's titles and then they also tease the next film by showing 23 Jump Street is under construction it's completely unreal but it works because this kind of dialogue is the kind that you can only really get away with when you're writing comedy now if you're watching this I assume that you yourself want to be a better writer if so then this is a book that you need to give a go Stephen King's on writing I'm sure a lot of you know that right now I'm writing some novels behind the scenes and I was told a number of years ago that the best way to learn is to teach which is why I started the close look in the first place to improve my writing craft while helping others as well hopefully one day I'll be half the writer Stephen King is but this book provides this fascinating insight into what it's like to be a fiction author as well as providing a ton of tips on the craft for you to learn from simply put if you were to write fiction in any form Stephen King's on writing is required reading material or rather listening material because I can happily thank audible for sponsoring today's video the number one place for you to get your audiobooks the great thing about audiobooks is they let you optimize your time like why drive a car to work when you can do that and listen to a gripping novel or self-help book all at the same time why listen to the boring teacher at school when you can be lost in the lands of Narnia and escaped you somewhere far more interesting I personally think that audible is a fantastic service listening to audiobooks has never been more easy or convenient and when you start I thoroughly recommend you give seeing kings on writing ago especially if you're a writer like me so if you go to my URL audible.com slash closer look or text closer look to 500 500 you get this audiobook or any other audiobook you like for no cost maybe tomorrow on your daily commute or health this very second if you like you can listen to this book on audible using my link and if you don't like the service you can always cancel in the first month and it won't cost you a single penny there truly is nothing on the line when you sign up which means there's no reason you shouldn't give it a go so please go to my URL audible.com slash closer look or text closer look to five hundred five hundred and get your free audiobook today anyway thanks for watching and I'll see you guys next time on the closer look

Channel: The Closer Look

Views: 1,345,646

Rating: 4.9468384 out of 5

Keywords: how to write, writing, write, writing dialogue, good dialogue, great dialogue, best dialogue, how to write dialogue, how to write good dialogue, bad dialogue, advice, tips, how to, the closer, the closer look, closer look, video, essay, video essay, tarantino, how tarantino writes a scene, film, movie, closer, writing advice, subtext, now you see it, nerdwriter1, character, dialogue

Id: hEgsIV98ZmU

Length: 16min 42sec (1002 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 13 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/da_funcooker]

Using The Room as an example of bad dialogue is cheating.