Dialogue is key to bringing your #character to life. Here are 5 tips for mastering it :
1.Keep It Natural: Dialogue should sound like real conversation.
2.Show Personality : Use #dialogue to highlight each character's unique traits.
3.Less Is More: Let visuals do the talking whenever possible.
4.Read It Aloud : Ensure your #Screenwriting flows naturally by reading it aloud.
5.Avoid On-the-Nose Exposition: Trust your audience to read between the lines.
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Hi, Vincent Weberink. I’m a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. I wanted to let you know I moved your post from the Filmmaking/Directing Lounge to the Screenwriting Lounge since it's about screenwriting.
Helpful tips. Too bad I didn't have them when I started writing scripts. Haha "Show Personality." I think about a character's personality when I write dialogue. That helps me make their dialogue stand out from each other. I also visualize each character talking.
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Maurice Vaughan Thanks for the move, Maurice, and glad you found the tips helpful! Visualizing characters speaking is a great technique—it really helps with making dialogue distinct and natural. I like to imagine how each character would misinterpret a conversation differently, too. It adds layers to interactions. Do you have a favorite trick for making dialogue pop?
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Mike Childress Good point, Mike. I definitely don’t mean to imply that dialogue isn’t important—just that it should serve a purpose rather than over-explain what can be conveyed visually. The best scripts strike a balance between strong visuals and impactful dialogue. And yes, some execs do skim for dialogue first, but they’re looking for something compelling, not just filler. Curious—what’s your approach to balancing dialogue and visuals in your own writing?
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You're welcome, Vincent Weberink. Thinking about a character's personality when I write dialogue helps me make it pop. I also think about a character's motivation, goal, and fear(s) when I write dialogue. And what's going on at that moment in the story affects a character's dialogue.
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Instead of reading it aloud yourself, you may ask two actors at the local amateaur theatre read it. Or ask AI to generate two voices which you listen to,
When it comes to my dialogue, since I have filmed a lot, I typically imagine how one of my actors would say a line. I have heard their voices so often during editing that I am familiar with how they say their lines.
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Thanks for sharing your approach, Mike. Mike Childress
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Maurice Vaughan That’s a great way to approach it, Maurice. A character’s personality, motivations, and fears all shape how they speak, and it helps keep the dialogue authentic. Do you find that you ever adjust dialogue after stepping back from a scene, or do you usually get it right in the first draft?
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That’s an interesting method Göran Johansson . Since you’ve worked a lot with actors, do you ever write with specific performers in mind, or do you focus purely on how the character should sound?
I usually adjust dialogue after stepping back from a scene, Vincent Weberink. And I do an entire rewrite where I focus only on the dialogue.
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If I have any specific performer in my mind when I write? I have had multiple very loyal actors. So I think about those whom I know best when I write. I hope they once again want to help me. So, yes, I have favorite actors.