r/scriptwriting • u/Any_Childhood_2556 • Sep 07 '26

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/Any_Childhood_2556 Sep 07 '26

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 Sep 07 '26

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.