On the nose means a character says exactly what they’re feeling or thinking. The dialogue doesn’t have any subtext. Something that helps me with subtext is writing the dialogue on the nose first, then rewriting what the character says different ways and picking the line that has the best subtext.
Say my character doesn’t like coffee. I’ll write it on the nose first as something like “I don’t like coffee,” then I’ll rewrite it as “You got anything else?,” “Who drinks coffee?,” and so on.
Or I’ll just have the character slap the coffee out the other person’s hand. :D
What helps you write subtext?
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Good advice. Just get it on the page. Why writing is re-writing!
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Exactly, Dustin Quinteros. That reminds me of something. Even though I outline (really detailed outline), I don't realize some things about the story until I'm actually writing the script.
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I never thought of that. it’s very helpful
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Glad to hear it's very helpful, Toua Her!
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Aside spoken dialogue I think of subtext as action. EG Several characters on screen and one says something to another BUT recipient hasn’t seen the speaker’s action. Audience knows something they don’t.
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I like that, Debbie Croysdale! Dramatic irony. Call it dramatic irony subtext? :)
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@Maurice Good point thanks. Also I use subtext to create mystery rather than dramatic irony/comedy. WHO knows what the subtext actually means in any given scene changes the dynamics. EG Characters are talking & one of them (or an observer) reacts in a certain way but audience doesn’t yet know why. (What do they know that we don’t?) Characters are talking above surface level but it’s not yet clear as to why.
You're welcome, Debbie Croysdale. I like that idea. I'm gonna try it in a script. Thanks for the idea.
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It's a good tip. Thank you for sharing :)
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You're welcome, Lucy Addams. Thanks. I hope the tip helps!
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That's very good to know where "on the nose" comes from haha. I usually like to show my characters' reactions to certain things, so in my case if a character didn't like coffee I'd have him/her do things like nose wrinkles, force a gracious smile or otherwise politely refuse. Or even just take it and dump it away when the giver isn't looking lol
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Or slap the coffee out the other person’s hand, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh? :) Replacing dialogue with a reaction is a great idea! Sometimes we think we need to write dialogue, but action/reaction can be stronger.
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Thank you Maurice Vaughan , yeah, like subtextual dialogue is all well and good but actions definitely help it feel more relatable/realistic I think. Plus, y'know, actions speak louder than words :) slapping coffee out of the other person's hand certainly has a stronger impact than indirectly saying "I hate coffee, how dare you give me some" lol
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You're welcome, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. You're right that actions speak louder than words. And the character could slap the coffee out the other character's hand for a number of reasons. They really don't like coffee, they have an anger problem, they had a bad day, etc. And it'd be interesting to see how the other character reacts.
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Exactly Maurice Vaughan , they can even do it because they absolutely hate the other character or otherwise don’t trust them, can be lots of things :D
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A good next step after this would be to see how it plays with no dialogue at all. We can pick up a lot of social cues just by looking and with the help of editing and shot choices, you can emphasise a lot without a word being spoken.
You're right, Ewan Dunbar. I've been thinking about writing a script without dialogue. If I do, I'll rewatch movies like A Quiet Place and No One Will Save You and read the scripts.
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This is the technique I always teach as well. However, a colleague recently pointed out that every once in a while an on-the-nose line can work in a script that is otherwise full of subtext: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/storyandplot_screenwriting-activity-7304869442084057089-RdsB?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAADPfKABXTw-LdN5Zj5QGQANnZ940EGvrwQ
A lot of writers use these sudden truths to convey themes (ex. Succession). That works when these lines are earned (the emotion leading up to it justifies it) and especially when the rest is very subtextual or full of lies/obfusations.
Hi, Anna Marton Henry. I know Tom. I talk with him on Twitter/X sometimes, and I'm subscribed to his newsletter. He has a lot of great advice and insight!
You and Tom are right about using on-the-nose dialogue every once in a while/not being afraid to use it in scripts. Sometimes characters just need to say what they mean.
"A lot of writers use these sudden truths to convey themes (ex. Succession). That works when these lines are earned (the emotion leading up to it justifies it)." Exactly!
And if a character is the direct type, I think on-the-nose dialogue is fine.