Spoken language is filled with sentence fragments and word contractions, the sort of things that are frowned upon by English teachers expecting formal written prose. The language we speak everyday is much less formal than written language. At the level of rhetoric, this language is too formal. I hope you agree that this is poor dialogue, for several reasons. I cannot afford to take the time to join you for a beer. I have been struggling with an essay for my history class. A beginning screenwriter might write something like this: Picture a scene in which one student roommate asks another if he would like to go out for a beer. People Speak in Fragments and Contractions Those two universes are light years apart. They are writing dialogue as language to be read when in fact dialogue must be written as language to be spoken and heard.

Writing dialogue is the primary area in which a screenwriter gets to show off a little a mastery of language.īut dialogue is written in a special kind of language, and in my university classes I am struck by how many students enter with no knowledge of this. Strong writing skills in the traditional literary sense simply are not as important to a screenwriter as strong storytelling skills.Ī minor exception is the writing of dialogue.

It’s a bit like an Olympic runner joining the grade school track team. However, writing strong, character-driven dialogue is where the screenwriter shows off a mastery of language.įor writers who aspire to stylistic brilliance of prose in models such as Henry James, William Faulkner and James Agee, screenwriting can be a disappointing field. Literary skills in the traditional sense are not as important to a screenplay as strong storytelling skills.

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