Screenwriting : Writing Inspired Dialogue by Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

Paul Golino suggests dialogue either attacks, defends, deflects, persuades or seduces. It's similar to McKee's protecting, rejecting, apologizing and excusing. Using Golino's model helps to structure dialogue in a basic way. The writer takes it from there.

For example, I recently overheard a conversation between two women who passed each other:

WOMAN ONE

Thanks for texting me back today. (Attack)

After a beat,

WOMAN TWO

I was running around today. (Defends)

Of course, Women Two could take a moment to return texts. This is the subtext. She chose not to return texts for reasons only she knows. It's immediate tension. Woman One is angry. She might be wondering if the other Woman is really a friend.

An attack does not return an attack. It works best with a different character strategy or response and can start with any.

WOMAN ONE

I texted you today. I really love your texts. I was looking forward to one back. (Seduces)

WOMAN TWO

My texts aren't that good. (Deflects)

Gotta say though, you can find good dialog in less lofty places.

I have been rewatching the original 3 seasons of Borgen, and it has some killer dialog in places, especially the family scenes.

Either you can or cant. No class or how-to teacher will help you write memorable dialogue (finished movies).

The writer of article picked high bar examples: QT, Allen, Sorkin are like Mount Rushmore of filmmakers. Thats like picking Michael Jordan as the standard for wannabe NBA players.

How fatalistic. Give up. Why?

Besides, sports analogies to screenwriting are lame. Apples and oranges.

Dunno for a lot of mentioned fellas but I caught reading Tarantino once saying he basically heard some dude talking anecdote, memorized it word for word and placed it into one of this scripts...suspect he done this continuous times (can happen people keen to photographic memory)...

So nobody gotta give up...but u either hustle best ways u can or ask God for unlimited talent...gray zone can't deliver any real success...

Diablo Cody trolls malls, sits near teens and listens. The brilliant teenspeak in her scripts comes from there.

That list of screenplays definitely sets the bar high. However I believe above average screenplays with excellent dialogue is a combination of talent, learning, and experience.

My best advice is take a few acting classes if you can and get scripts on their feet. You get a sense of what looks and sounds natural in person, and it gives you a good feel for what needs to go on the page to produce it. It’s hard to write dialogue in a vacuum. Reading scripts is great, but developing your own style takes time. My acting has REALLY helped my writing, and vice versa.

Thanks for the article/movie references, Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal". I'm always looking for ways to make my dialogue better.

I really like the Paul Golino suggestion, E Langley. I never looked at dialogue that way ("dialogue either attacks, defends, deflects, persuades or seduces"). but it's true. Thanks.

I've heard people say that too, J.N. Gould. Great suggestion. I haven't taken acting classes, but sometimes I act out my scenes as I write them and rewrite them.