Dialogue

Just because a character says something, it doesn't become dialogue. Dialogue is about demonstrating character through conflict. Dialogue is the function of the character in a drama or a theatre.

Dialogue is just another way of getting what a character wants. When characters talk, they do it for a reason, consciously or unconsciously.

Dialogues are a very useful tool in theatre. Not only do they give voice to the characters, but they are also helpful at many other levels.

Four Major Functions of Dialogue:

1. It advances the story.

A major feature of dialogue is that it moves the story forward in a more straight-forward way than a narrator’s explanation would. What characters say leads to something happening in theatre. Through dialogue, a decision is made, a question is raised, information is released, or tension is built. Even silence forwards the story.

2. It develops the characters.

Characters can also evolve through dialogue. In fact, in every good dialogue, at least one of the characters should undergo a change of mood. Choice of words, unique syntax,and mannerisms in dialogue reveals much about a character.

3. It provides information (subtext).

Dialogue provides information that the reader senses (often unconsciously) about the relationship between the characters, their personalities, and their moods, etc. Apart from that, it gives specific data about the plot, so all of the information provided in a dialogue must be justified. Characters generally don't exactly say what they mean. But through the subtext provided in their dialogue, audience can understand the meaning.

4. It entertains the audience.

Good dialogue engages audience and entertains them.

Tips to write effective dialogue:

Writing good dialogue is a hard task. It takes practice and patience. Here are ten tips for you to improve how you write your dialogue so your conversations crackle on the page.

1. Read dialogue aloud. It’s meant to be heard, after all. This will help you to listen to the voices of your characters, noticing the flow and movement of their words.
2. Don’t use dialogue to convey large chunks of information (exposition). People don’t sound like this: “Since we arrived here at four, to watch for Martin Goodfellow, the murderer, I’ve felt hunrgy.” It’s okay if readers don’t know exactly what’s happening at all times – trust them to understand the story because they are intrigued by the voices of your characters.
3. Dialogue should sound real, but that doesn’t mean dialogue on the page is exactly like snippets of dialogue you overhear. You don’t need all the Hellos, Goodbyes and boring small talk of daily life. Cut it out.
4. Good dialogue should move the story forward, convey character and feel full of life. The best place to see great dialogue is by attending (or reading) plays, watching movies or even just switching on the TV.
5. If you want your character to say, “I need you,” think about the words your characters would actually use. Perhaps they’d say, “I can’t- Do you have to catch the early bus?”
6. Learn how to write the correct punctuation for speech. It’ll be a useful tool for you as a writer, making it easier for you to write the dialogue you want, and it’ll help your work look professional when publishers read it.
7. Another technical dialogue tip: he said and she said read just fine. Don’t worry about repetition, most readers glide over he said/she said as if those words were punctuation. Too many of these: exclaimed, gasped, screeched, postulated, reasoned, argued, pondered, mouthed, etc… and your dialogue will be overwhelmed by the words around it.
8. Have people argue with people, or have people saying surprising, contrary things. If everyone is agreeing with each other, your story will feel flat.
9. Think about how each of your characters sounds. Make each voice distinct – this can be subtle or dramatic. Perhaps one character likes to use a certain word or short phrase, so make sure the other characters don’t use that same word or phrase. It’s a small distinction, but useful. More dramatic distinctions are up to you!
10. People don’t have to answer each other directly. Sometimes what’s not said has huge meaning.

V.O. (voice over) and O.S. (off-screen) are similar terms, but they have slightly different applications. Both are used to indicate that dialogue is spoken by someone not currently seen on the screen; the difference isn’t where the speaker is not, but where the speaker is.

Off-Screen Dialogue (O.S.)

• O.S. is used when the character is in the scene location, but not currently on screen.
• When the audience doesn't see a character who is speaking, the dialogue in the screenplay must be formatted so that it's clear which character is speaking and where that character is located.
• For example, a scene can be set in a room where a woman calls a child who is upstairs in his bedroom. The audience sees the woman but not the child. However, the audience hears the child answering.

Voice Over Dialogue (V.O.)

• V.O. is used when the speaker is not physically in the scene.
• The speaker could be someone on the other end of a telephone line or radio broadcast, an unseen narrator, or a character’s inner-monologue.
• V.O. is used in the following situations:
  • For phone calls, when the person speaking is on the other end of the line
  • To externalize a character’s inner monologue or thoughts
  • Radio broadcasts
  • Unseen narrator