How to Write Dialogue 

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Act out your dialogue. Play all the roles yourself, or better still get some local actors to read it for you.Then re-write, re-write, and tweak until it works.

I think talent is a myth. People like to bring up Tarantino like he's a prodigy, but the man studied movies his whole life. He lived in movies. He worked at movie stories and saw films from all around the world. He even admitted to practicing dialogue since he was young. He wasn't born with the ability to write like many people think. You have to work at it and study the craft. It's a skill that takes time to hone.

Here's my 20 second dialogue master class for anyone interested: "Hi, can I help you? Can I have a dozen red roses, please. Oh hey, Johnny, I didn't know it was you! Here you go. That's me! How much is it? That'll be $18. Here you go, keep the change - hi doggie! You're my favorite customer. Thanks a lot, bye. Bye-bye!"

My best advice when it comes to writing natural dialogue is to realize that people don't necessarily speak in full, complete, grammatically correct sentences but often in clipped and shorted ways.

This vid simultaneously encouraged me and scared me at the same time.

"leave the rest in the classroom" is one of the advice I've seen on this site. too many videos named "how to write the perfect dialogue/ how ________ writes the PERFECT scene" contain no practical advice and mostly feature videomakers showing you their favor clips and describing what they see on screen.

Dialogue is just like cinematography, or editing, or CGI, or any part of filmmaking really. Sure, you'll get outliers - films that pride themselves on blatantly showing off their craft. But the best implementation is the invisible one. It's the Spielberg oner; it's Fincher's CGI. If you're able to trick the audience, to the point where all they see is the story, well... then you've done it.

“Simplicity is a necessity” This is literally among the best advices I’ve heard, as I’m a person who tend to overthink and get stuck in theoretical mumbo jumbo’s. So thanks.

I believe the general mistake people are making, is that they're trying to apply all of this while they're writing. That's not what the writing part is for. For me the writing part is all about having made a lot of research and knowing your characters and worlds well, not in the way of knowing every little shit about them, but knowing them in a way like you'd be knowing a good friend and knowing about a city like you're living in it. Then you just basically let your emotions and instincts flow and you write all of this down as if the situation is happening in front of your eyes and you're just witnessing and descriping it. The whole big subtext and emotional verbs and semantics and information-transimitting part is for editing. In editing your script, you find out for the really first time what you've written is all about. Then you go all over the dialogue and structure and make it fit in with this idea (that you've found in the script) and make it shine. Like Oscar Wilde said: "Write drunk and edit sober." With this he (Probably) didn't mean you should become an alcoholic, but to go crazy and emotional when you write and apply logic and techniques, etc. to it when you're editing it.

This makes me laugh. - there's *one* piece of advice in this I don't think you should follow. It's probably the most important one. He's got it backwards, if you're not great at dialogue, instead of trying to put across something you _think_ sounds good, you should *_listen_* to people talk instead. I'm in basic agreement with the rest of this, by the way, but this is one of my strengths, and I don't write that much at all. I'm sure that's nothing to be too proud of, and that I'm lacking somewhere else because of it, but I have never, never, never had a problem writing dialogue. I hear two people talking in my head: I transcribe what they're saying, that's it. Think about it: if you're having trouble with this, you don't have to work on your penmanship or something, you have to have a good ear. You don't pass a test by writing down what you _think_ the answer is until it seems right to you - you do *research.* I can listen to people talk about things I have no interest in for hours, as long as _they_ are interested.

9:22 One of the best examples to me in terms of "write dialogue how it's supposed to be written for that movie" is in the Hannibal series. Personally, I was hooked on every word that left the protagonists' mouthes, although the dialogue ist far from what you would consider "natural". But it totally works, because the entire aesthetic of the series including editing, vfx, etc. is supposed to be this disorienting, fever-dream-like trial of strength between two psychological masterminds. Any dialogue that is even close to banal would fall completely flat and un-engaging.

Oh, my god, thank you. I... _knew_ all of this stuff, but I hadn't been able to untangle it into something actionable. I'm definitely one to overthink every single line. I knew each scene should have a purpose, and I should know what my characters want... And then I'd get caught up on correctly writing a regional accent, exposition, wit, and just not get much of anything done at all. No one has ever said to me "good dialogue can be like good editing - you don't notice it's there". I hope this becomes one piece of advice that gets repeated more often, because that is exactly what I needed to hear.

Omg thank you for making this the next video, dialogue is such a tough thing for me now because I think, I think about it too hard and much

I'm preparing to make a short film with children in the interiors of India. Your presentation clarified so many thoughts I had concerning this assignment, especially about being natural and spontaneous. Thanks a ton.

This is the first actually useful guide to writing dialogue I've encountered, genuinely thank you

Did nobody notice that narrator's (Tyler Mowery) meaning of words matched the character gestions in the 9:30 minute

this is the most practical thing i've heard about this whole writing process thing.. YOU give me hope man..thanks

Many of these tips are extremely applicable for an actor as well. All the stuff about intention and action and beats are great but can bog many people down into their heads when actually playing a role. I'm so grateful that in my training we started with the Mamet approach and always kept coming back to it. This was all so encouraging to hear ❤️🦄🌈

Why is this only aimed at screenwriters? This is perfect for books, too.

Flawless, as usual, Tyler. Your way of explaining things clears my mind and always helps me find my way whatever obstacle I'm facing while writing. I always feel inspired after watching one of your videos. Thank you, keep it up!

Your videos have really opened my mind up to exploring new methods of storytelling. Much thanks, keep it up

Thanks for the video. I didn't know any of that stuff about dialogue but it's something that happens spontaneously when I am writing. I'll look up my scripts and limit the unnecessary dialogue. Thanks again

Would love to see more breakdowns of good dialogue scenes.

Thank you so much Tyler Mowery, I love your videos so much!

i appreciate your time, it´s clear and on point

The best video concerning writing good dialogue. This makes a ton of sense!!

Hey Tyler! plz continue to make videos, ur break downs truly help me as a new writer. Thank you brotha. 🙏🏼

Useful advice. What the scene is about and what needs to be accomplished should direct your dialogue.

If you understand who your characters are, how they react, what they need, and what they want, coming up with dialogue for said characters is rather easy. Dialogue is a dance between characters. The difference is that this 'dance' needs a beginning and end that pushes the plot forward in some way or foreshadows what may be to come. If it doesn't do either one, then the scene simply isn't necessary. Did the character gain or lose anything, whether it's a friend/foe, possession, information, optimism, etc.? By the end of the scene, are we wondering what the characters might do next? Each line needs to be a direct *contrast* to the previous one. Repetition works in this manner to drive a point forward, much like how a song does. Dialogue is the song the characters dance to. Yeah that's my quote, dunno if I'm just flat out wrong but so far this rule has helped keep the story flowing.

“Is it just a talent you’re born with?...” as it cuts to Quentin. Nice! 😉

your channel is a breath of fresh air. It's like suddenly I understand why I like the stories I do, and I can finally break down their compositions into simple structures and philosophical themes :)

Really great work. Great examples and footage to go along with the examples of dialogue usage.

Interesting, what you said about what a character wants, and what stands in their way. I’d also add, “what is the character willing to do to get it?” That provides you opportunity to ratchet up the tension in places, depending on who the character is. I also believe that writing is acting with a pen. And acting is reacting. The actor writes new dialogue when they “improv” a scene. Acting, writing, and directing are much more connected than people care to admit. The writer’s performance lives on the page. All of that takes knowing your characters. Fantastic stuff, man!

One of the most useful episodes on Dialogues 👌 Thank you

Thank you so much for this concise info, much appreciated.

The simplicity of this is refreshing. I'm ready to attack all of my scenes for my re-write. Thank you for this!!

Your videos help me so much with my script, thank you man!

Definitely subbed after watching a few of your videos. Loving your take on writing and story. Very eye opening and thought provoking

LOVE LOVE LOVE this!

Your videos are so informative! Really impressed!

I respectfully disagree. While it's perfectly valid to ditch fancy dialogue as long as there's a clear goal, I think it's definitely worth developing your skills in the area of quips and especially subtext if you want to use them. It's true, it's very hard to have many ideas in your head while you're writing a scene. But that's why rewrites exist. The first time you write a scene you might not have all the elements you want in there, but later on you can look at the scene again and see what interesting things you can add. Also, planning the scene on advance is very helpful. First you work on one aspect, then the next. Writing dialogue that is witty AND compelling AND moves the scene forward AND delivers all the necessary exposition AND has meaningful subtext is very hard, but really not impossible in my experience.

Very good point on how dialogue, like action, is a tool to move the story forward. Sometimes I get caught up with the feeling that I need to force some dialogue into a scene... This video does a great job at highlighting when it is actually necessary to use dialogue and not simply rely on it as a storytelling crutch. Look forward to the next video.

OH MY GOSH THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!! I CONSTANTLY am bogged down with attempting to write subtext and include other technical aspects in my dialogue!! Your rules are simple, easy to remember, and understand!!!!! This is SO reassuring!!!!!!!! I'm still going to record some of this in my notebook!!!! THIS IS TREMENDOUSLY INSPIRING AND HELPFUL, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

I just wanted to let you know that I have used your videos to teach my literature class. Thank-you for your hard work!

Thank you. made me recover energy and double my resolve to continue what I am writing now.

Thank you Tyler. I always thought I was doing something wrong when I decided to forget about subtext and just write lines.

As in everything else, it is vitally important to trust your audience. I have written some bad dialogue, of course, and I would say 80% of the time it's because I don't think my audience will understand, so I over compensate in one way or another.

This was so much more helpful than a lot of other videos on exposition I've seen. Plus it didn't make me feel like shit, it actually calmed me down

Love your channel. I studied screenwriting in college and these videos have taught me way more than the classes could. Keep it up! Would love to see a video on pacing.

Such a great video! Thanks for sharing, I learnt a lot :) Very clean and clear content.

Your channel is so underrated! One day I want to pursue a career in film or television, so I'm glad RU-vidrs like this exist.

Tylers 4:45 - 4:50 sudden pause and sudden pluck of guitar tells us its almost obvious in a way. or atleast i felt the simply powerful drop of noise at this moment. lovely

Thank you for this video! I am so glad you mention this. I love film analysis and narrative analysis etc. But the more I learned about theory, the more I realized that you can't consider all these issues at the same time. For me, everything is about context, subtext, and the purpose of the particular story you're trying to write.

I'm working on a screenplay right now, and I am constantly second guessing the dialogue I write because I am so afraid of it being too clunky or too wordy or too cringy. This video was extremely helpful and reassuring. Thank you!

Make it natural and you make that very clear great video Tyler

This is the best class EVER! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

I needed this.

Excellent… Excellent video!!! Thank you so much for sharing this!

Thank you for this video. I struggle with writing dialogue and I think it is because I forget the purpose of dialogue. I saw dialogue as a way to entertain and hold the interest of the reader. So I became focus on making it interesting,funny and witty. It puts more pressure on me because if it doesnt seem interesting, funny or captivating. I keep rewriting it. But seeing dialogue as a tool or mechanism to move the story forward makes it so much easier. It takes the pressure off. So thank you

I've seen this before, and I didn't get it. But for some reason this bless me. WOW!!!!

Thanks man you open my eyes..

You are my teacher , I will follow you master

Thank you very helpful.

This was so helpful, thank you!

It was super helpful! Thank you

Oh how I needed this.

Very well done!! I know some writers who can really use this!!

I really appreciate this video. It came right on time for me I feel like you read my mind lol! I been slacking on my re-writes lately because I've been bogged down with dialogue and thinking of all the technicalities of it and whether it's funny enough or smart or witty enough or subtextual enough or some other overthought BS. So as soon as I saw this video I clicked lightning quick lol. Thank you! (not sure 'subtextual' is a word though but I'll look it up later lol)

Something I found really interesting and surprisingly helpful was some advice from a creative writing teacher I had a while back. Go into a public place with a notepad, and eavesdrop on nearby conversations, trying to record as much as possible of what they say. It doesn't matter if it's a full conversation or just one exchange. Try to find as many different conversations as you can, and try to record it as quickly and accurately as possible. It's essentially like life drawing, but for writing dialogue and you start to pick up on all kinds of nuances on natural speech that you wouldn't normally think to add to your writing.

I agree with you up until the end of the video. Even if you have a great story, your dialogue is going to suck if you don't worry about syntax, subtext, ect. at some point. Storytelling is only half the equation. My advice? Work in stages that each focus on one aspect at a time. First, just get the scene down, brainstorm a couple different lines, while keeping in mind the direction of the scene. This is assuming you already have the story beats written out, however loosely or tightly described. Second, go through and fix the story. Scenes have beats, just like the greater narrative of your story. Hit them. Third, get detailed. Get your grammar lined up, then decide if that grammatical rule should be broken to better fit the character/situational context. This will then lead to editing based on flow, rhythm, and other poetic terms, which will help determine style. At each stage, read the dialogue out loud. If you catch yourself changing wording while you're talking, change it. Also have others read it. Repeat each step until its solid. Don't just throw away the academics, but also don't think about them first. Each stage has a purpose.

Thanks for this.

You know what's a little on the nose? The midroll ad I got for Sorkin's Masterclass Really liked the video! Never considered that like editing, dialogue could be invisible

Funny how I was just thinking of Zodiac when you talked about remembering dialogue from great films, then moments later you used Zodiac as an example. What a spectacular movie.

One of my favorite writers is Paddy Chayefsky. The screenplay for Network is incredible, and shows exactly how to break the, "rules," when it works in your favor.

thank you so very much , because no one can tell you how to write . writing is a very personal thing, so is how you use your dialogue

Great Video , Loved it

Expertly constructed essay, informative helpful and to the point, liked and subscribed

Very helpful! Thank you very much!

9:07 Thanks for this. I feel like not enough people realize that by going far too in-depth with their prescriptive analyses of writing dialogue, they unwittingly make the job way too complicated for those who are just starting out and aren't necessarily seasoned screenwriters. (Also just generally, your videos are fire my guy, keep it up!)

Man this was an amazing movie driven purely by character and dialogue.... Amazing watch

You really helped me. Thanks!

thanks for advices

Nice master class ad on this video

I'm currently writing a screenplay for a thriller that I hope to produce one day and another screenplay for a short film that I might be producing shortly. This was really helpful.

Thank you for these great tips from Mamet and Sorkin. A huge takeaway!

Really enjoyed this, great job!

Excellent!

Tyler you are spot on about streamlined dialogue elements - core universal principals. Writer's have to keep in mind the "teaching" cottage industry pushing "this and that" about the craft. Yes, there are various techniques/elements like subtext, etc but not every scene;s situation warrants it or any other elements to express story, character. The various elements are tools of expression, choose them when needed and appropriate for a particular scene's articulation.

As always, great essay. Thanks!

2:13 Ah, Man of Class. You brought up Glengarry Glen Ross. That's a real good movie, expecially the 10 minute scene of Baldwin's character's monologue. Coffee's for the Closers.

"He is not the boogieman, he is the man you send to kill the boogieman". My favourite dialogue ever!

Before seeing the video, I'd just say that I don't know. I just kept writing. It was shit and cliche and contrived dialogue. Now it's much, much better. Not saying that my dialogue is on the tier of Elmore Leonard or Tarantino or Sorkin, but it's getting to a place that people think it's actually good. So... keep writing and somewhere along the way you'll get to a decent place and even a great place with dialogue or just any aspect of writing. I will tell you that being an actor like myself helps a shit-ton, though. The moment I started thinking like my acting process and asking the questions that I would ask when doing my script analysis in preparation for a role... man, did my dialogue improve tremendously.

Perfect performance

Leave the rest in the classroom. Love it!

Sorkin has a great masterclass course on writing

Thank you so much. This has definitely helped me ^.^ My dialogue is actually very good, judging for what you've been trying to teach here.

Thank you

One of the best movies when it comes to (invisible) dialogue is The Meyerowitz Stories. It features a lot of dialogue that appears to have no polished lines and it shows people not really listening to each other, talking at the same time or just blatantly interrupting each other as if there is no script (just like in real life). It is a mess and it helps tell the story in an authentic way.

Thank you! I am sure I would use some of your knowledge to write my own story now (in my native language, sorry for my english)