Dialogue is one of the fundamental building blocks of strong screenwriting. It refers to the conversational exchanges between characters in a film, television show, or play.
Well-crafted dialogue serves multiple purposes: revealing details about characters, conveying important story information, setting the tone, and building relationships on screen. Learning how to write natural, impactful dialogue is critical for screenwriters to master.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down exactly what dialogue does in a screenplay, essential techniques for writing lively conversations, proper formatting for scripts, and common mistakes to avoid.
Whether you’re writing your first short film or working to improve dialogue scenes in a feature screenplay, these tips will help you better utilize dialogue to create an immersive cinematic experience.
What Does Dialogue Do in a Screenplay?
Dialogue serves several crucial functions in screenwriting:
Revealing Character Details
At its most basic level, dialogue offers a natural way to communicate information about a character’s background, personality, perspective, emotions, and motivations.
Well-written exchanges let the audience learn about characters organically through their conversations and responses rather than simply being told biographical details directly. Compelling dialogue hints at richer inner lives in a show-don’t-tell style.
Advancing the Plot
Dialogue between characters helps carry the narrative forward. Exchanges related to the central conflict provide plot details to the audience while also revealing new arguments, decisions, and actions that move the story along. Pivotal dialogue often directly leads to major plot points and shifts in the story’s progression.
Providing Exposition
While dense blocks of descriptive exposition can bring momentum to a halt, dialogue allows screenwriters to relay necessary plot details and context to the audience more organically.
Characters casually discussing information through conversation helps viewers understand relationships, backstory, and current narrative circumstances without getting bored.
Establishing Tone and Mood
Creative use of pacing, word choice, and delivery in dialogue exchanges helps establish the overall tone and atmosphere of a scene. For example, quick banter between friends can set up a light-hearted comedic tone.
Alternatively, slower, terser exchanges heighten tension in dramatic genres. The mood is often conveyed through unspoken cues.
Developing Characters and Relationships
The interactions between characters, from phone calls to dinner scenes, help reveal bonds and dynamics central to the story.
We learn how characters relate to each other – whether friendly, adversarial, or romantic – through their conversations and unspoken cues. This dialogue-driven development rounds out relationships and characters themselves.
Writing Natural, Impactful Dialogue
Approaching dialogue writing in screenplays requires thinking about conversational flow and the subtle ways people interact in everyday life. Here are some key strategies to make your dialogue feel more natural:
Know Your Characters
Spend significant time developing multidimensional profiles of your characters before writing too many dialogue-heavy scenes.
Know their backgrounds, personalities, motivations, speech patterns, educations, and more intimately. Deep knowledge of what makes characters tick will translate into more organic conversations.
Avoid Heavy Exposition Dumps
As noted above, dialogue allows you to relay helpful story exposition by working it naturally into character exchanges. However, big chunks of forced expository monologues often sound stilted. Look for subtle ways to organically weave necessary plot or relationship details into an exchange through conflict.
Use Subtext
Layer your dialogue with subtext – deeper meaning beneath the surface of the words spoken out loud. Sarcastic underlying tones, meaningful pauses, and implied intentions are all forms of impactful subtext. This creates nuance and realism beyond literal interpretations.
Flow from Conflict
At its core, compelling dialogue stems from characters wanting different things and fulfilling roles in the central conflict. Disagreement and debate between characters with opposing motivations drive lively, purposeful exchanges that propel scenes forward.
Vary Pacing Strategically
Think about pacing in dialogue like a music sheet. Sometimes quick back-and-forth exchanges work best, while extended monologues may be impactful at other times. Vary the rhythm of conversations based on the needs of each scene rather than sticking to one default pacing.
Strategic Use of Silence
Don’t fear moments of silence between characters during dialogue scenes. Allowing quiet, contemplative pauses and breaks can actually heighten tension and create opportunities for emotional impact when used judiciously.
Distinct Character Voices
Give each character a conversational style that feels organic to who they are. Factors like cultural background, gender identity, age, socioeconomic status, education level, and personality inevitably influence vocabulary choice, sentence structure, and cadence.
Formatting Dialogue Correctly
Screenplay format has specific conventions for handling dialogue blocks:
- Double-space all dialogue exchanges and center them on the page. This improves readability.
- Introduce each speaker in ALL CAPS on their first dialogue line. After that, only use all caps sparingly for clarity.
- Use paragraph breaks when the speaker changes – each character gets their centered paragraph.
- Parentheticals inside parentheses can provide context about tone or delivery, such as (sarcastically) or (barely audible). Use these devices sparingly.
- Secondary diegetic sounds like (on phone) or (in Spanish) get parentheses.
Following the proper script format for dialogue improves clarity and pacing for the reader. Avoid dense blocks of dialogue that run down the whole page. Frequent paragraph breaks help.
Common Dialogue Pitfalls to Avoid
Some screenwriting novice mistakes that can make dialogue feel unrealistic include:
- Monologuing – Long speeches where characters rant out their views unduly.
- “On-the-nose” dialogue – Characters directly state feelings rather than conveying them organically.
- All characters sounding the same – Lack of distinct voices.
- Unnatural speech patterns – Stilted or overly formal exchanges.
- Accent inconsistencies – Characters’ accents change irregularly.
- Ignoring subtext – Focusing too much on literal meanings.
- Overusing speaker names – Unnecessary clarifications of who is speaking.
With attentiveness to how people authentically speak and interact, you can avoid these pitfalls in your dialogue scenes.
Conclusion
Dialogue brings characters to vivid life for audiences while revealing plot details organically.
While crafting great dialogue takes practice, keeping conversations rooted in conflict, subtext, pacing, and character depth will make exchanges feel real.
Remember that lively, well-formatted dialogue immerses readers and viewers in on-screen worlds and relationships. Use these tips to make dialogue a strength across your screenwriting projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is dialogue in script writing?
Dialogue refers to the conversational exchanges between characters in a screenplay or script. It’s used to reveal details about characters, convey important plot information, set the tone, and advance the story.
What are the 3 types of dialogue?
The 3 main types of dialogue are:
- Direct dialogue – Characters speaking directly to each other.
- Internal dialogue – A character’s inner thoughts and reflections.
- External dialogue – When a character speaks to themselves out loud.
What is dialogue and example?
Dialogue is written conversational exchange between two or more characters. For example:
JOHN Where are you going?
MARY I’m leaving. I’ve had enough of your lies.
What does — mean in a screenplay dialogue?
In a screenplay, a double dash (–) at the end of a character’s dialogue indicates that the next character starts speaking, interrupting them. It shows an abrupt cut-off.
How long should a dialogue be in a screenplay?
Dialogues generally should be 2-5 sentences or lines in length on average. Very rarely would a single character speak for more than 2-3 paragraphs at one time. Each dialogue exchange should advance the scene.
Is a script just dialogue?
No, a script is not just dialogue. Screenplays also contain scene descriptions, action lines, character introductions, transitions, and parentheticals. But dialogue is one of the most important elements, bringing the characters and story to life.
How do you write dialogue correctly?
- Formatting double-spaced with character names in capitals
- Indicating tone parenthetically when needed
- Keeping exchanges brief – 2-5 lines
- Using conflict and subtext to drive exchanges
- Giving each character a distinct voice
- Avoiding unnatural exposition dumps
What are the 5 rules of writing dialogue?
The 5 main rules for writing convincing dialogue are:
- Read it aloud to check natural rhythm
- Make it reveal something about the character
- Use conflict to drive exchanges
- Include subtext and emotional resonance
- Give each character a unique voice/perspective
How do you write a dialogue?
- Identify your characters and motivations
- Outline key conversational points to advance plot
- Maintain logical exchanges that flow naturally
- Format each speaker on a new line with proper punctuation
- Intersperse action and description to break up dialogue
- Infuse personality into character voices
- Listen to conversations for inspiration
- Read it aloud to polish flow
