Writing Effective Dialogue

If talking around the edges of an issue is already one way to raise dramatic tension, then think of how powerful it can be to avoid the issue entirely!

In this scene from "Tootsie," Michael Dorsey is in love with Julie, an actress who knows him only as his female alter-ego Dorothy Michaels. Dorothy has just thrown out Ron, Julie's swinish boyfriend. A shaving cut on Dorothy's face has begun to bleed, which Julie tends to, leaning over Dorothy as she lies on the sofa:

Julie sits beside her, touches her face gently
with a tissue.

		 JULIE
      Oh, Dorothy, what did I do...
      I'm so confused.  What am I 
      gonna do tomorrow?  Who am I 
      gonna have dinner with?

Dorothy looks into Julie's eyes.  She can help
herself no longer. She moves towards Julie's
lips. Just before they touch - 

		 JULIE
      Dorothy, please!

		 DOROTHY
      Right!  No!  Of course!

Julie rises abruptly.

		 DOROTHY
      Julie --

		 JULIE
      Please don't say anything.

		 DOROTHY
      But there's a reason.

		 JULIE
      Don't ... don't be embarrassed.  
      I understand the reason.

		 DOROTHY
      No, no, that reason's not the 
      reason.

She reaches for Julie's hand.

		 DOROTHY
      I'm not ... I'm not the person
      you think I am, I --

		 JULIE
      Nobody is -- you don't have to 
      explain.

		 DOROTHY
      Look, give me a second.  If 
      you could just see me out of 
      these clothes.

		 JULIE
      No!!

Out of context, this dialogue would be meaningless. But in proper context, the words create a wonderful comedic interplay of cross-purposes and mistaken intentions. Yet all of the inherent meaning in the scene is not said. The sentences are very simple, filled with repetition, pauses, and half-finished thoughts. But it is the very lack of overt meanings that allow the hidden meanings to jump to the fore; this is the paradox of great dialogue writing. Less is more!

Each character, just like each individual person has a way of communicating that is uniquely their own. It is important to realize the difference between idiosyncrasies like accent, stuttering, lisping, repeating words or constant yelling, which all define the character externally - and the revealing bits of prose which define the inner life of the character. The external sound of the voice, combined with the internal meaning of the words combine to create a dimensional whole.

Following are some key elements that bring dialogue, and thus character, to life:

Philosophy or Morality

	    GITTES
I'll tell you the unwritten law,
you dumb son of a bitch, you 
gotta be rich to kill somebody, 
anybody and get away with it.
You think you got that kind 
of dough, you think you got 
that kind of class?

 -Jake Gittes, Detective
  From "Chinatown"
  by Robert Towne

Gittes says this in retaliation to a client who declares he wants to kill his wife. The point Gittes makes becomes the moral of the entire film.

Character Agenda

	    KUJAN
THERE IS NO IMMUNITY FROM ME.
You atone with me or the world
you live in becomes the hell you
fear in the back of your tiny 
mind.  Every criminal I have put
in prison, every cop who owes me
a favor, every creeping scumbag
that works the street for a 
living, will know the name of
Verbal Kint.  You'll be the 
lowest sort of rat, the prince
of snitches, the loudest cooing
stool pigeon that ever grabbed
his ankles for the man.  Now you 
talk to me, or that precious 
immunity they've seen so fit to
grant you won't be worth the
paper the contract put out on
your life is printed on.

  -David Kujan, Customs Agent
   From "The Usual Suspects" 
   by Christopher McQuarrie

Kujan threatens Verbal Kint in order to make him talk. Kujan thinks that Kint is just another criminal to break in order to move ahead with his case. Kujan also believes himself smarter than Kint (the story ultimately proves the opposite.) All of these ideas are reflected just in this tiny slice of dialogue.

Class, Background, Education

	    SICK BOY
I know a couple of addicts. 
Stupid wee lassies. I feed them
what they need. A little bit of
skag to keep them happy while 
the punters line up at a fiver
a skull. It's easy money for 
me. Not exactly a fortune, but
I'm thinking, 'I should be 
coining it here.' Less whores,
more skag. Swanney's right. 
Get clean, get into dealing, 
that's where the future lies.
Set up some contacts, get a 
good load of skag, punt it, 
profit. What do you think?

  -Sick Boy, Heroin Addict
   From "Trainspotting" 
   by John Hodge

Sick Boy has the base aspirations of a junkie. He never thinks beyond criminal activity, a lifestyle that appeals to his innate laziness and background of lowered working-class expectations.

As you compare each piece of dialogue to its respective category, note that any of the dialogue could really go under any of the category headings. This is because good, organic, character-specific dialogue contains all of these elements.