In an article on ScreenCraft, Ken Miyamoto offers advice for writing great dialogue. Importantly, Miyamoto notes that when it comes to dialogue, less is more. “A lack of dialogue is often your best bet,” he says. “The key to writing great dialogue for a script is to refine it by cutting out unnecessary lines rather than trying to force in clever one-liners or speeches. The goal is to find a simple, powerful phrase that perfectly captures the scene’s essence.”
Miyamoto suggests practicing these tactics for writing effective dialogue:
- Write the scene without dialogue. “The power of implication and subtext in dialogue can be more impactful than the words spoken by characters,” he writes. “Do your best to focus on moving the story forward with visuals and actions rather than leaning on the dialogue to do so.”
- If the scene needs dialogue, write one or two lines. “When you realize that a given scene needs that extra element, challenge yourself to accomplish what needs to be accomplished by achieving that goal with just a sentence or two,” Miyamoto suggests. It’s about finding that diamond in the rough that encapsulates the moment at the core.” He shares an example of an overwritten scene that has been edited down to its essentials.
- Eliminate unnecessary exposition. “Exposition is comprised of those pieces of vital information — often shared in dialogue — that is necessary for the audience to know and understand for character arcs and plot points to make sense,” Miyamoto writes. “These nuggets of information usually exist outside of the direct narrative. They, therefore, are difficult to properly insert into the story and plot seamlessly without halting all story and character momentum.” Bad exposition is when characters talk about information or learn new information from the tv or radio. Good exposition is brief, subtle, and flows into your narrative as turning points, reveals, plants, and payoffs.
- Have characters argue about the exposition. “The problem with exposition is that it lacks conflict — it’s just bland information,” Miyamoto says. You can work around this by having two characters react differently to the revealed information, creating conflict.
