I think a lot of beginning writers are always looking for cheat codes or fast ways to improve their writing. When really, the best way to get better is just to write a lot. But dialogue is one of those tricky things that feels completely subjective to the person reading it. What I want to focus on today is a few techniques I think that can help you add layers to your dialogue and also will allow you to find the right beats in your writing. Let's dive in. SubtextWhen you sit down to write dialogue, you want to make sure characters are not just dictating how they feel at every moment. We call that on-the-nose dialogue, and it's what people flock to when they think of bad dialogue. Instead, you want to strive for subtext when your characters are speaking. That means talking about something without talking about the real thing behind it. As an exercise, have a couple of people sit down and talk about one thing while referring to another. Or read Hills Like White Elephants, by Ernest Hemingway. Le MenuI am a massive fan of Claudia Hunter Johnson's Le Menu. We made one for characters that we use in character development. When writing dialogue, you should refer back to this and see how this specific person's life would be reflected in their speech. For instance, in the Thailand season of White Lotus, I think about the rich southern family. They use very region-specific expressions and colloquialisms...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - 4 days ago