Rob Mowbray's Lounge Discussions

Michael Ford
DIALOGUES – LONG vs SHORT

Hi, writers! I'd like to talk about length of dialogues in feature scripts. I always loved long ones. In fact, I think that ability to make a 10+ pages dialogue – it's what separates men from boys. But when I started submitting my stuff to contests, absolutely every reader told me same – shorter is...

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Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

DG: Methinks you are correct, sir. I have a lot of different material so I don't have to go with the same horse in every race.

Christopher Binder

For better or worse we live in an age of emojis and text messages. Lots of information can be conveyed in simple abbreviated sentences. This has shortened attention spans dramatically. So keep it focused, short and sweet. Dialogue is for the theater anyway.

Doug Nelson

Keep in mind the acting talent available to you. Very few present day Actors can deliver an extended aria or a long soloquie so it's best to keep the dialog in two/three lines separated by some action or cutaways. It makes everyone's life simpler.

Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"

Kyle

Awesome post.

Bill Albert

Really depends on what type of script you're doing. Even if it's just dialogue you have to keep things moving. Just watched the original "Fail-Safe" yesterday. Absolutely brilliant. It's all dialogue but you can't look away from the characters and situation.

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