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Screenwriting Tips - How To Write Strong Dialogue
Have you ever been told that you don't have an ear for dialogue? If so, we're about to change that.
When it comes to writing dialogue for screenplays, there are two things to keep in mind: brevity and plosives. We'll talk about brevity first.
The common definition of brevity: the quality of expressing much in as few words as possible. Lengthy speeches are acceptable in novels and short stories. But in screenplays, they are referred to as "talking heads". Too much dialogue can drag the pacing of your scene and bore your viewers to death. In short: keep it short!
When characters speak, have them say what they need to say in as few words as possible.
Take a look at these famous movie quotes:
"Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!"
"I'll be back."
"You talking to me?"
"Bond, James Bond."
"May the force be with you."
"Go ahead, make my day."
"I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse."
"I love the smell of napalm in the morning."
Notice that none of those quotes are more than 10 words. When it comes to dialogue, shorter is always better. Remember that. Plus, it's much easier to direct an actress when she only has 5 words to speak as opposed to 100. If you keep your dialogue short and tense, the actors will like you, the directors will like you, and you'll keep your audience awake!
Strong dialogue follows a few simple rules besides being short: conveys pertinent storyline information, conveys conflict, conveys humor, and/or elicits information from another character. Follow those four simple rules and you can't go wrong. Oh, and don't forget to keep it short!
Another trick for strong dialogue is the use of Plosives. If you don't know what they are, that's OK; few people do.
I've personally used plosives to strengthen my writing for close to 20 years now. They work especially well when crafting dialogue.
Say the word "power" a couple of times. Say it out loud. Do you hear that pocket of air you create when you say the "p"? That pocket of air is called a plosive.
Plosives are why some words sound better than others. In fact, the more plosives a word has, the powerful a punch it packs!
There are seven letters that can create plosives: b (brain), c (coward), k (kill), p (power), q (quill), t (trance), and x (vixen). Another two letters that are close to being a plosive are: g (gag), and d (dead).
So how do you use plosives? By selecting plosive packed words over weak words. Consider the following:
Instead of "knife", use the word "blade".
Instead of "thief", use the word "bandit".
Instead of "whore", use the word "slut".
Get it? Always select plosive-packed words for your dialogue!
Here are two great movie quotes that are thick with plosive-packed words:
"A wealthy scoundrel seduced and betrayed me." - Ronin.
"Dead broad off the table!" - Shrek.
If you want to watch an entire movie with plosive-packed dialogue, check out Tombstone or A Streetcar Named Desire.
Check out these plosive-strong character names:
"Porter" - Payback
"Snake Plissken" - Escape From New York
"Trinity" - Matrix
"The Dread Pirate Roberts" - The Princess Bride
Say the following sentences out loud:
"We got in a fist fight, and I won." (five plosives, nine words)
"I beat the crap out of him." (five plosives, seven words)
"I split his head open with a baseball bat." (eight plosives, nine words)
"I cracked his skull open with Pete's baseball bat." (eleven plosives, nine words)
Plosives work! Use them in your dialogue, and us them often. If you couple brevity and plosives together, you will always write captivating, ear-grabbing dialogue!
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