Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen is a comprehensive survey of dialogue techniques with many examples drawn from plays, movies, and literature. The author defines dialogue as “an outward execution of an inner action. All talk responds to a need, engages a purpose, and performs an action.” He provides a detailed deconstruction of dialogue elements such as sentence structure, deliberate pauses, the use and misuse of figurative language, how to avoid melodrama, and more. The author also relates dialogue to other story components such as plot, pacing, and characterization. |
- What does my character want out of this situation [scene]?
- At this precise moment, what action would [s]he take to reach that desire?
- What exact words would [s]he use to carry out that action?
“The text of a character’s spoken words conceals her inner life from other characters while at the same time allowing the reader/audience to see through the surface of her behavior."
"… readers and audiences instinctively look past the words to intuit the unsaid, to glimpse what the character actually thinks and feels (subtext) but chooses not to put into words. The writer, therefore, must hone dialogue so that this is possible, so that the unsaid can be sensed by implication.”
"Dialogue should imply, not explain, its subtext."
The author explores several types of dialogue in-depth, analyzing popular media beat by beat to illustrate how the writer constructed their dialogue and the effects they achieved: dramatic conflict (The Sopranos); comic conflict (Frazier); asymmetric conflict (A Raisin in the Sun); indirect conflict (The Great Gatsby); reflexive (inner) conflict (The Museum of Innocence); and minimal Conflict (Lost in Translation). |
- Dialogue problems are story problems.
- Creativity is choice-making.
- A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences…
- Be judicious in the placement of pauses. Shape the rhythm of scenes without undue hesitation, so that when you put on the brakes, the standstill moment grips attention.
- Silence is the ultimate economy of language.
- Each verbal expression takes an inner action.
- A unique verbal style characterizes each role.
- Create honest motivation for behavior.
- The problem of melodrama is not over-expression but under-motivation.
- To create fresh, original dialogue, set high standards and never settle for the obvious choice.
- The more emotional people become, the shorter the words and sentences they use; the more rational people become, the longer the words and sentences they use.
- Clarity above all.
- Repetition trivializes meaning.
- Voice is not a choice, it’s a result [of character].
- The stronger the inner scene, the more powerful the dialogue.
Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen provides extensive tools any writer can incorporate to elevate and focus character dialogue.