Scriptwriting- Dialogue (Less is More)

This weeks scriptwriting session was centered around dialogue and how to make your dialogue seem more realistic and organic, the phrase Less is More was brought into the discussion (Phrase made popular by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe) as an example of how having only a few lines of dialogue in your script can still be impactful and in some cases better than using too much dialogue. We then proceeded to take part in an exercise where we split up into groups of three so we could observe each others conversations and mannerisms, two of us would talk while the third wrote down notes and quotes from the conversations. This was useful to be able to see how conversations can start between two people and how different people can take different roles in the conversation, for example how one can be more into asking questions or how one person could be more of a listener and it's important to identify these roles to make the dialogue flow organically.

We were also able to notice different slang words and tones some people would use that relates to their environment and up bringing, It isn't necessary but can be helpful to research on certain accents and cultures if your writing focuses on them. When I think on strong organic dialogue in films I think of writers like Quentin Tarantino, Paul Thomas Anderson and Richard Linklater, these writers just have so much talent when it comes to dialogue and they make it feel so natural like you're not even watching a film, they have the ability to really make you think the words are those of the characters and not written by someone else. Now I feel like I have a better understanding of how to be more relaxed and more direct with my writing, I really want to experiment with different dialogue for different characters in my script. I have a list of various websites related to scripts and screenplays that I can read through to help me with different aspects of the writing, BBC writers room seems to be a popular website to look out so I hope to look deeper into writing.