Story-Telling Unit: Screenwriting

DIALOGUE AND CHARACTER

(Monday 3rd October)

Today’s workshop with Steve focused on the development of believable and interesting character and dialogue. In order to assist us with this, we were given a useful (yet rather daunting) list of “Dont's for Dialogue”, the most poignant rules including:

1.    Don’t state something obvious

2.    Contradictory dialogue is great – creates mystery and audience interest

3.    People talk in different ways (consider accents, slang etc.)

4.    Come in from funny angles

But above all, every sentence should;

1.    Move the story forward

2.    Develop the character

If the dialogue doesn’t achieve this, then it is not worth keeping.

With regards to character, Steve emphasised the use of BUTs within characters, and how contradictions within a character can make them immediately interesting. For example:

Chemistry teacher, BUT cooks meth.

As well as this, effective characters should also:

1.   Be faced with problems

2.   Have to make choices

3.   Be flawed in some way or another

To write effectively for our characters, we must know them as well as we know our friends - including their flaws and what makes them interesting.