How to write dialogue between two characters by comparing it to tennis.
[The following post on how to write dialogue between two characters is an excerpt from our screenwriting book: Master Screenplay Dialogue: The Ultimate Practical Guide on How to Write Dialogue Like the Pros.]
Learning how to write dialogue between two characters is one of the key skills you’ll need to master writing dialogue overall. But often aspiring screenwriters find it hard to see the woods from the trees and recognize when they’re making rookie mistakes when it comes to conversations between two characters.
By the end of this post you’ll be able to:
• Recognize the #1 mistake when it comes to dialogue between two characters in your own writing
• Tackle this problem head-on using a little-mentioned theory hack (involving tennis) on how to write dialogue between two characters
• Learn our dialogue examples and apply the techniques to your own work
• Know how to move forward and amplify your dialogue even more in future
The #1 problem when writing dialogue.
You’ve probably heard that if your film dialogue isn’t revealing character or pushing the story forward, it can be cut. While this may be easy to understand intellectually, it can often be hard to implement in a script when you’re deep in the story and want to let the characters talk as much as they want.
How do you know how to write good dialogue when you think what you’re writing is good already?
In other words, it can be hard to tell the difference between effective dialogue that deserves to be in a script and general chit-chat that doesn’t. The latter often results in script dialogue between two characters that runs long, with characters making speeches or just sitting around shooting the breeze, and this means you’re overwriting it.
Stick to 3 lines or less (in general).
When dialogue stretches to four or five lines or more or is just a friendly conflict-free conversation, it might not seem like a problem when you’re writing it, but it really drags on screen.
The key, therefore, to learning how to write dialogue for two characters that really shines, is knowing how to frame the conversation and what to cut.
While the advice to “cut any dialogue that doesn’t reveal character or move the story forward” is true, we think it’s easier to achieve this if you approach it from the perspective of characters engaged in a battle.
How to write dialogue by reframing it as a game of tennis.
Here’s a great theory hack on how to write dialogue between two characters. Use this sample dialogue and exercise to really help tighten up your script’s conversations.
The best moments of dialogue often come between two characters who are at odds with each other—when they’re using their words like weapons. Or in the case of this analogy—tennis racquets.
A great way to edit a conversation and also inject some conflict and stakes into it is to think of it as a game of tennis.
Emulate the back and forth nature of real conversation.
Particularly in confrontational scenes, there should be a sense in the characters’ dialogue that they’re struggling to make the other realize something important.
That they’re taking it in turns playing defensive or attacking shots while trying to get the upper hand over the other. And that their words are putting each other under tremendous pressure and causing a great deal of stress.
Rather than thinking of dialogue writing in casual conversational terms, try to think of it as a tennis game between the characters—each one hitting the ball across the net with a line that tops the last until, finally, one hits the “winner.”
Dialogue examples between two characters.
Here’s a dialogue example between two characters from the film The Girl On The Train. This is the scene in which the protagonist, Rachel, is confronted by Detective Riley over whether or not she killed her neighbor.
Note how the dialogue resembles a battle between these two characters until Riley wins the “game” with the line “Did you murder Megan Hipwell?”
See how there’s no room for waffle here? Every single line is included for a reason because it’s either an attacking shot or defensive return over the net.
Remember: writing dialogue is not always about battles.
Of course, you shouldn’t apply this hack on how to write dialogue between two characters to every conversation in your script. Not all film dialogue is a full-on confrontation that moves the plot forward, comparable to a game of tennis.
Sometimes dialogue can be very low key, friendly, and only reveal character or backstory.
The exceptions to the rule.
Take a look at these dialogue examples: the scene in The Way, Way Back in which the teenage protagonist, Duncan, has his first proper conversation with the girl next door, Susanna.
Or the one in Wild, in which Cheryl meets another female hiker on the trail and all they do is chat about their lives. Or the one in The Skeleton Twins in which Maggie and Milo sit on the floor talking about high school.
While the tennis game analogy might not fit these kinds of scenes, if the balance of conversations in your script resemble conflict-free exchanges rather than battles in which they’re both vying to get the upper hand, then you probably have a lack of conflict in the story overall.
In this case, reframing the dialogue as a game of tennis—with each character playing defensive or attacking shots—can really help add some pressure, conflict and stakes. In turn, this will help stop characters chatting for the sake of it, as you’ll be forced to focus the dialogue only on what’s important.
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To learn more about how to write dialogue between two characters and get your dialogue writing up where it needs to be—i.e. with the pros—check out our latest book, “Master Screenplay Dialogue: The Ultimate Practical Guide On How To Write Dialogue Like The Pros.”
Let us know what you think of our method on how to write good dialogue in the comments below. Have you tried thinking of dialogue as a battle between the characters? What are some techniques you use yourself to make sure the dialogue between two characters stays engaging and pushes the story forward?
Liked this post? Read more on how to write dialogue between two characters…
Script Dialogue: If Your Characters Are Just Talking You’re Doing It Wrong
On the Nose Dialogue Examples and How to Stop It Killing Your Script
How to Write a Screenplay That’s Unlike Any Other in 6 Steps
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