10/10's - Ten Lists of Ten Tips for Digital Filmakers & Professional Videographers
Ten Tips for Writing Better Dialog for Screenwriters and Filmmakers - Continued

6. Say the wrong things. Play with your characters. Piss them off. Trigger the unrelenting, imperfect communication of human beings. Then let them hear a sentiment that softens them out of the blue. Let your characters surprise you.

7. Write silences. Start quiet and add.

8. Record conversations. Play them back. Type them out. How do you talk? Did you say what you mean? Did others? Seek out subtext--what people want--in their statements. Can you hear what's true and what's not? How did they get across what they meant?

9. Make it hurt (good.) Work the dialogue against the description, so that the story gets told in its tension.

10. Write long, edit short. Write as much as you want. Let your characters inform you by saying things they'd never say out loud. Then cut it clean. CPM

Pema Teeter is a chronic observer of human nature and witness to life in its intricacies. Story coach and writer, she helps people find their voice by telling their stories. Her interviews and stories can be found on her blog, StoryCharmer.com.

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