How do you write good dialogue in a screenplay?

Good screenplay dialogue sounds natural but is sharper than real speech. Keep lines short, let characters want something in every exchange, hide meaning in subtext rather than stating feelings, give each character a distinct voice, and cut exposition. Then read it aloud: if it sounds stiff, rewrite it.

1. Every line wants something. Characters talk to get something: help, forgiveness, the upper hand.
2. Subtext beats text. "Forty years. Not once." says more than "I'm scared."
3. Keep it short. Most speeches should be three lines or fewer.
4. Distinct voices. Cover the names: can you tell who's speaking?
5. Cut exposition. Characters shouldn't tell each other things they both know.
6. Enter late, leave early. Skip greetings and goodbyes.
7. Interruptions and silence are powerful. Not every question needs an answer.
8. Read it out loud. Or hear it: a table read exposes clunky lines instantly.

True-Script's Table Read gives every character a different voice, so you can hear your dialogue before anyone else does.

Real speech versus screen speech

Real conversation is full of hesitation, repetition and small talk. Screen dialogue keeps the feel of real speech but cuts everything that doesn't move the story or reveal character. The goal is not realism but the illusion of realism: lines that sound like something a person would say, said at exactly the moment the story needs them.

Seven practical techniques

1. Write subtext. People rarely say exactly what they mean. A couple arguing about the washing-up is often arguing about something much bigger.
2. Give each character a voice. Vocabulary, rhythm, sentence length and what they avoid saying should differ from character to character.
3. Keep it short. Most lines work best at one or two sentences. Long speeches should be rare and earned.
4. Let characters interrupt and miss each other. Answering a question with a question, or not answering at all, creates tension.
5. Cut the greetings. "Hi, how are you?" and "Goodbye" can almost always go. Enter scenes late.
6. Avoid "as you know" exposition. Characters shouldn't tell each other things they both already know just to inform the audience.
7. Use names sparingly. In real life people rarely say each other's names in conversation.

Test it out loud

The single best test of dialogue is hearing it. Read it aloud yourself, get friends to read it, or use a synthetic read. If you stumble over a line, an actor will too. If two characters sound alike when you hear them back to back, one needs work. True-Script's Table Read gives each character its own voice, which makes it easy to hear whether your characters are genuinely different people.

Dictating dialogue

Many writers find that speaking dialogue produces more natural lines than typing it. When you dictate a scene in True-Script, you say "character" and the name, then the line, and you hear immediately whether it sounds like speech. Try improvising a scene out loud, playing each character in turn, then edit the transcript down.

Learn from produced scripts

Read scripts of films and series whose dialogue you admire, then watch the scenes. Notice how much of the page survives on screen, how often actors leave lines unsaid, and how much is carried by looks and silence. It is the quickest way to tune your ear.

Common questions

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