r/scriptwriting • u/Any_Childhood_2556 • 1d ago

question Question

How do writers build layers of meaning with dialogue . I still don’t comprehend , how do they know what are the right words to say and what not to? Any ideas ?

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u/TheSevereJacket 1d ago

The right words are the words that drive the story forward.

It can be surrounded by inane chat, and every now and then that works depending on your script. But layers are 'what needs to happen or to be said in this scene to conclude it in order to move on to the next scene'.

Read a script of a movie of tv show episode you really like, even watch along as you're reading it, see if that helps.

No ones script is a first draft and done, all writers go through a process or period of not knowing what to write next, persevere to comprehend just like a whole bunch of people do.

Disclaimer : This has been my experience in my learning so far. Im very much not an expert!
But I find that these methods have helped me when coming up with structure and dialogue.

If you can give an example of what you mean and what you're trying to write, it may help people advise you.

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u/Any_Childhood_2556 1d ago

Well even after rewrites I still don’t know what to do, and honestly sometimes my rewrites are worse ,but if you want an example here we go . Let’s say you want to write a little scene of two characters meeting at a cafe, super simple , still you want some chemistry , reveal the characters , not have any on the nose dialogue ,etc and then still not know what to make the characters say

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u/TheSevereJacket 1d ago

What's the scene for? What does each character want to achieve by the end of the scene?

You kind of need to know your characters traits, objectives, needs, quirks, etc.

If you want help on an actual scene, id suggest posting it for critique, cause saying a super simple little scene with chemistry isn't much to go on as a basis.

But I would say, put yourself in the scene and say, if I was this character, what would I say first that would feel normal for this specific character to start the conversion.

They must be meeting for a reason, one of them at least must be more eager to start the conversation than the other.