Write to TV, 2nd Edition

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WRITING DIALOGUE THAT DANCES ON THE PAGE

 

For the most part, dialogue is what keeps your script moving. It is commonly known in the industry — and having read a gazillion scripts I can attest — that most readers will skim action lines. If those lines are bulky, they will skip them completely. It is the combination of character and dialogue that tell the story. Therefore, your dialogue must be crisp and rhythmic. Dialogue that is choppy or inconsistent will slow the reader down, and potentially take them out of the story and your script altogether.

FIRST AND FOREMOST: DIALOGUE COMES FROM CHARACTER

The most important thing to remember about dialogue is that it must come from character. One of the first things producers are ...