talk nerdy to me

This article is specifically aimed towards radio, however, every platform that you write for should contain meaningful dialogue. Perhaps you’re reading over the word ‘meaningful’ thinking… is it that deep? My characters asking each other what they want for breakfast must be… meaningful? Yes.

Allow me to elaborate, by ‘meaningful’ I don’t particularly mean dialogue with a heartfelt message, but dialogue with a purpose to the story and the outer narrative frame. Drawing on my previous example… let’s take that and make it meaningful in the context of the article. One character wants to know what the other wants for breakfast… because they’re after making it with gone off ingredients in order to make them ill. This has a purpose to the plot and potential deception from the character that appears nice for offering breakfast. If your characters are asking one another about breakfast for the sake of it- remove it.

sweet nothings

You may have a line that reads perfectly, it’s like poetry, it’s dramatic portrayal from the actor is going to be so intense… only it doesn’t impact the story. Sure, you cherish this line, it’s genius, you’ve been waiting for the right moment to drop it in the script. BUT- on the grand scale, it’s pointless. It has no context, no foreshadowing, no reflection of theme- remove it. Dialogue need to move the story forward. Probably something I’ve said in a previous article.

SHARPEN YOUR LINGUISTIC BLADE

There’s more pressure applied when it comes to radio- or so I believe- as sound is the only reliant for the story. You can’t rely on the show-don’t-tell device to give information to the audience that you don’t want to reveal via dialogue. However, dialogue can be meaningful in radio in order to establish the location better, making it easier for the imagination of the audience. For instance, in a phone conversation someone saying, “You’re on the wrong floor,” indicates the characters are in a multi-story building and creates meaning through this purpose.

KEEP IT REAL

Meaningful dialogue can also be a piece of dialogue that’s a sharp one liner that summarises the theme of the film. Emphasis on- ONE liner. If you go into overkill when mentioning the theme, the dialogue will feel on-the-nose. Keep it short and sweet, a short piece of meaningful dialogue that summarises the theme of the film. It shouldn’t be reiterated either, reel it in towards the end of the script.

For example- THE GREAT GATSBY- a quote in the final scene:

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

Amongst the plethora of themes in this story, reinvention is what the quote focuses on. It explains that if you continue through the difficult obstacles, you can adjust the past to your preference to influence your future. It’s perfectly placed in one of the last images to allow the audience to reflect on what they’ve just watched and apply the quote to their experience.