Dialogue and Character Motive

I recently did a series of workshops with students ranging from grade 4 to 9 tackling various aspects of writing craft: story structure, hooking a reader, character development, and a general introduction to screenwriting.

In discussions with the teachers, before or after my presentations, a similar issue was brought to my attention - the misuse of dialogue in their student's short stories. Dialogue rambled, was too "every day", failed to reflect character personalities, there was too much, or too little for it to be effective. I got the sense the use of dialogue in creative writing might therefore become discouraged.

And this information made me rather sad. My writing has always been dialogue heavy, likely why I was attracted to screenwriting in the first place, and, frankly, some of my best lines are words my characters say - not description or action sequences or heavy internal monologues.

Which is why I tweaked my workshops to include a segment on dialogue dos and don'ts. I flipped through my personal collection of writing manuals, googled the topic, scanned YouTube videos, and tossed my own ideas into the mix. The result is a two-page document I'm hopeful teachers, students, and writers will find handy. The PDF version is available HERE.

I believe the key to great dialogue is knowing your character motives / goals / beliefs / values / desires and how that knowledge will influence what they choose to say or leave unsaid. Then make sure what the character wants, in any given scene / interaction, comes through loud and clear. If their goals clash - all the better - your characters will challenge each other, contradict each other, and more importantly try to influence each other to see the situation they way THEY want it to be seen. Instant tension. Instant buy-in from your readers. If you do it right.

Below is a clip from the film The Knight's Tale. I highly recommend reading the script which you can purchase here, The Knight's Tale Shooting Script. Watch the clip and evaluate each character's dialogue. They know what they want and they aren't afraid to say it. Observe how the main character, William, wins his friends over. Bonus - this scene also sums up the theme of the film...anyone can change their stars.

Great dialogue. I know you can write it too.

Guest Scribe: Liz Strange

I'm pleased to feature a fellow Canadian author and screenwriter on the blog this week. Liz Strange writes adult fantasy, paranormal, mystery, erotica, and will be celebrating the release of her debut young adult novel, under the pen name, Rachel Armstrong, in February. Plus - she writes scripts. This Ontario writer is cranking out the words and with many of her work receiving allocates and awards - those words are keepers.

Liz has kindly agreed to a short interview. Here goes:

What projects are you working on / have published?

I am just finalizing the galleys on my debut YA fantasy novel, Fair Folk in Knob’s End (Daughters of Annwn #1) and will be starting the edits on the print version of Book 3 in my Dark Kiss trilogy. I also have a couple of short stories out there, and have just finished my fourth original screenplay.

What's your "road to publication" story?

I had a life “situation” about 6 years ago. It was a catalyst to make some real changes in my life, which included trying to get published. So I brought out an old manuscript I’d written about 15 years earlier and polished it up. The rest is history.

Why young adult fiction?

This particular story (Fair Folk in Knob’s End) seemed to translate best to a YA format. It’s a fun, whimsical story, much lighter than most of the stuff I write. I’m very excited to have something of mine to read to my younger children.

Why screenwriting?

I love movies!! I’ve always been a fascinated with the whole business of making movies, and I’ve had some great ideas that seemed to translate best to a screenplay format, over a novel or short story. And it’s fun to write in a different kind of structure.

It's all storytelling in the end, no? Can you share a bit with us about your (very cool) awarding script and how winning has impacted your career?

Well I’ve had 2 different scripts make the Finals (2011) and semi-finals (2012) at the Shriekfest Film Festival & Screenplay competition. Night walker is the story of man from medieval Scotland who turns to a local coven for help in getting revenge against the man who murdered his wife. He’s betrayed, and cursed to exist as a Nightwalker until he can track down each woman and kill her.

It’s opened doors to new contacts and given me the confidence to keep writing and getting my work out there.

I agree that entering contests (and winning or making the shortlist) can give you a leg up on the competition. Congrats! Do you approach / plot fiction and screenwriting differently?

I am totally a ‘write by the seat of my pants’ type of author with anything I do. 

The perpetual plotter in me let out a ginormous gasp, but I'll get over it. lol... Best writing advice you've heard?

Keep reading and trying new things. Expect criticism and learn from it.

What inspires you?

Images, music and interesting legends/folklore.

Lightning round:

Vampires or werewolves? Vampires, no question.

Chocolate or peanut butter? Both.

Favourite horror film? The Evil Dead.

Favourite line from ANY film? Roy from Blade Runner “All these moments will be lost in time,

 like tears in rain."

Favourite Canadian TV show? Continuum. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to!

Ah, Blade Runner. Such a classic. Thanks so much for hanging out, Liz and I wish you all the best with ALL of your projects. Continuum - gotta check it out!

A way with fear

I've been working on a project that has lead me to step out of my comfort zone in many ways:

1. I'm co-writing the script, which I wasn't sure I wanted to attempt again, but there's a lot to be said for tackling a story as a team.

2. It's a thriller. No paranormal elements. No serendipitous use of magicks to get characters out of a jam. It's real-world, and frankly, that much scarier.

3. Several of the characters are twisted and have a way with fear - exploiting each other's to the utmost - which translates into a lot of nasty research into the minds of psychopaths.

4. My writing partner has a proven track record in the industry and his experience forces me to up my game. What if I suck? What if my dialogue is shit and my characters are flatter than I was in the sixth grade?

It's all a bit frightening if I dwell on things, however, that's part of the appeal. This project has made me realize I use fear as a motivator in my life. I write everyday, but usually don't finish a project until a fierce deadline closes in. I hate dentists and go in for treatment at the last possible second, when a wonky tooth is threatening to do its worst. My diet is questionable and only improves when slipping on my favourite jeans becomes a secretive five-minutes-in-the-bathroom-without-my-husband-as-a-witness procedure.

I need fear in my life and I'm not ashamed to admit it. It's the great regulator, ensuring I get shit done, pay my bills, make it to the day job, strive to do better.

The above image is supposed to be motivational. But what if no one in the world experienced fear? What would we be capable of then? Ah...now there's a story....

The Script Doctor At Large is in the House

In 2010 I had the pleasure of launching my novel with a group of debut authors known as the Class of 2k10, originally founded with Greg Fishbone and the Class of 2k7 which helped launch the careers of authors like Cassandra Clare, Rosemary Clement-Moore and, well, more. I'm please to say that the Class program is still going strong and the Class of 2013 is already out there getting known in the writing world.

The benefits of joining such a group in your debut year just keep on coming. From sharing our initial publishing experiences, to touring New York City during Book Expo America and physically meeting for the first time, to being supportive our of continuing career highs and lows - there's nothing quite like the Class.

Take, fellow classmate and middle grade fiction author, Rhonda Hayter - you gotta "love" her and not just for her Canadian roots - although she now lives in Los Angeles, Rhonda was born in St. Jean, Quebec. There's her quick wit, the way she can command a crowd of keen bloggers at a book launch, her bewitching way with words, as seen in her novel, The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams, and now,  her no-nonsense bedside manner as The Script Doctor At Large.

She even graciously agreed to an interview. Here goes:

You worked as a story analyst for a major Hollywood production company and have read thousands of scripts…and you called that your day job….lol…JEALOUS! With all that experience under your belt, what’s the most common flaw you saw in the scripts you read?

Well, Larry Gordon, the producer I worked for, originally got famous with action movies like Die Hard and 48 Hours (although he also made Field of Dreams so he has lots of heart too.) And during my tenure, our biggest hits were the Tomb Raider and Hellboy movies so I read a LOT of tent-pole action scripts. And what I learned, to my extreme boredom and ever-increasing irritation, is that the worst possible thing a writer can do is stuff in a lot of empty action that’s all about the car crashes, or the CGI, or the stunts, without connecting it to the urgent objectives and emotional arc of the protagonist. Because directors and producers love their toys, sometimes the movie may even get made (though not if I have anything to do with it and never by Larry Gordon either.) But it will tank at the box office because audiences just won’t care. The same holds true with comedy. Jokes that aren’t tied into behavior and someone taking an action to achieve an objective will fall flat every time. Any of the great stuff that’s been out in recent years, like the Judd Apatow movies, get all the comedy out of behavior and characters in honest, painful, emotional need.

Great insights. I agree, a film, or series of films (STAR WARS PREQUELS) can have all the fireworks in the world and fall flat if the characters aren't ones we root for.

Personal script / plot pet peeve?

YES! I hate when people make romances between psychiatrists and their patients. I run across it all the time in scripts and it drives me nuts. I went to a screening of 50/50 last year, which I thought was a lovely, lovely film. But there was one horribly false note in it, which is that the young therapist, who’s so incredibly heartfelt and ethical and desperate to help this young man whose case is way over her head, someone who’s trying to do the right thing all the way through the movie…ends up in a romance with guy at the end. Will Reiser, the writer of the film, was there and he gave a talk in which he said that he’d been forced to make a few changes in the script to please the studio and I didn’t even have to ask whether that was the change that was foisted off on him or not. Bogus!

Good to know...and now I'm wishing I'd asked you about screenwriters and egos. Obviously a screenwriter has to be prepared to make certain compromises and to understand that there will be many hands massaging their script.

Can you explain the term “coverage”?

Basically, it’s the reader’s advice to the executives as to whether they should bother to read the script or not. So be nice to the readers, people! Don’t test their patience with typos and over-writing and borrowed plots. Speaking more specifically, coverage is a log line, a detailed synopsis, and generally a page of critique discussing what’s good and what’s bad. And then there’s a final button on it, which is ‘pass’ or ‘consider.’ (There’s a ‘recommend’ too but I think I only used that once or twice in my entire career.)  And I’ll tell you a little secret; if a producer trusts his reader, he’ll look at whether it’s pass or consider and if it’s a pass, nine times out of ten he won’t read more than the log line. But even if it’s a pass, if there’s something about the log line that intrigues him, he’ll bestir himself to read the coverage after that. So it pays to have a concept that can be boiled down into an interesting line or two.

Coming from the publishing world, then coverage is akin to interns or junior editors / agents going through the slush pile and moving manuscripts up the chain of command. Important to wow readers in both industries. Got it, thanks. ;)

Having written a ton of loglines, do you have a formula or method of composing those tough little suckers?

No, I really don’t, I’m sorry to say. It’s a case-by-case thing, in which you really have to get to the kernel of what the movie’s about.

I was really hoping for a different answer on that one. ;) The idea of generating a logline is deceptively simple - condense your plot into one brilliant line of text - yet they are difficult to master. But as we all know, hard writing makes easy reading.

Favourite script you got to read / work on?

I really think it had to be the first Hellboy. I loved it from the first second I read it… and then I read one hundred million incarnations of it as time went on, and I still loved it because it had all the action and CGI stuff and all that, but it was so funny and human and heartbreaking at the same time. He was a boy from Hell, nurture had overcome his nature, and he was looking for love!!! Come on!! And then to see it all come to life, with the great, great Ron Perlman, was really a thrill.

I'm kind of starstruck just thinking about this. I loved the first film - for it's steampunk elements, but also the great writing, the love triangle, the "ah craps", and yes, Perlman. 

You’re going freelance and offering your services. Yeah! Can you explain what a scriptdoctor can do for screenwriters?

I thought you’d never ask. First of all, we all need an outside eye on our work because when you’re face deep in the creative process, objectivity goes right out the window. And they’ll simply tell you what’s working and what isn’t in terms of character, plot, style, structure, and all the other elements and give you concrete suggestions on how to fix it. Someone who knows what they’re doing will be seeing your movie play out in front of their eyes as they’re reading and when the movie stops running the way it should, they’ll know the reason why.

Thanks so much for answering a newbie screenwriter's questions, Rhonda! I know patients will be lined up outside your virtual door. 

Got script? Need some professional eyes on it before you send it off into the world? Contact Rhonda via her WEBSITE.

Follow Rhonda on Facebook. Learn more about her fiction HERE.

Ferocious Screening: Calgary International Film Festival

This weekend I attended my first film screening during the Calgary International Film Festival and I know I'll be back next year for more. My husband and I drove seven hours from our Northern town to check out the adult thriller, FEROCIOUS, written and directed by Calgary's own, Robert Cuffley.

I'm no paparazzi, but I did my share of picture snapping as the cast arrived to cheers from the crowd:

Once seated inside the theatre, Cuffley introduced the film, and then...we watched. Seated close to the cast, it was fun to hear them laughing and razzing each other during certain scenes - enjoying their inside jokes. Ferocious had many dark comedic moments as we dove into the world of the main character, Leigh Parrish - an actress with a sex tape to cover up. Here's a blurb: "Leigh Parrish, a likeable, small-town girl, now famous actress, takes increasingly drastic steps to protect her fame."

I enjoyed the standout performances of veteran actor, Kim Coates, holy hell that guy can be twisted and creepy, Michael Eklund, who is edgy, sympathetic, and cool, as well as Katie Boland, a young actress with loads of attitude.

A major highlight of the night - the question and answer session with the cast that followed the film. The banter between these actors was proof they had a blast while on set. Mindboggling that they completed shooting the film in just eighteen days - a testament to Cuffley's passion for movie making.

Watch for Ferocious screenings in YOUR town, or on Canadian television networks in the future.

Fun Announcement

Author Dawn Dalton and I have multiple projects on the go, from solo to team efforts as with our Most-Wanted Monsters young adult series. Note - I write paranormal fiction under my pen name, Judith Graves. 

But the fun doesn’t end with print media. We also collaborate in the writing and development of scripts for film and television, and to further complicate things, Dawn also writes under the name, Dawn Ius. A writer by any other name...

We're keen to announce we've signed with film/tv literary agent, Anna Archer of Lucas Talent for our screenwriting projects. Lucas Talent is one of Canada’s leading talent agencies and we're thrilled with the professionalism and comfort level we've experienced thus far. 

Here’s to navigating TV Land!

You can follow our fiction writing and screenwriting careers on our blogs:

Dawn Dalton: http://www.dawnmdalton.blogspot.ca/

Dawn Ius: http://www.dawn-ius.blogspot.ca/

Tracy Belsher: http://flexyourwords.blogspot.ca/

Judith Graves: http://judithgraves.com/

Screenwriting Resources to DIE for

SCREENWRITING RESOURCES TO DIE FOR

Below is a list of materials I'd be lost without. If you're into screenwriting, you may find some (or all!) or them useful:

CRAFT

Save the Cat: The last book on screenwriting that you’ll ever need – Blake Snyder. Ironically Save the Cat was the first book on screenwriting I’d heard other fiction writers talk about and thus the first one I purchased…but I do return to it again and again.

Save the Cat: Goes to the movies. The screenwriter’s guide to every story ever told – Blake Snyder. Main plot points of films identified so you can make them happen in your own tales.

The Coffee Break Screenwriter – Pilar Alessandra. Fantastic resource for plot structure and dividing the task of writing a complete script into bite sized, manageable sections.

Your Screenplay Sucks: 100 ways to make it great – William M. Akers. I find this to be the best revision tool around. I use it for fiction manuscripts as well. It helps you identify problem areas and kick the snot out of them.

Four Screenplays. Studies in the American Screenplay: An analysis of four groundbreaking contemporary classics – Syd Field. Wonderful breakdown of Thelma & Louise, Terminator 2, The Silence of the Lambs and Dances with Wovles. In terms of understanding what makes a story work – this beast is priceless.

Cinematic Storytelling: The 100 most powerful film conventions every filmmaker must know – Jennifer Van Sijll. You’ll never watch a movie the same way again…and it will help you place your fictional cast on your stage with more finesse and creativity than ever before.

SCRIPTS

The Shooting Script series – as with writing fiction, the best way to learn what works is to READ. Here are some of the scripts I’ve purchased, but I also follow the Scott Myers blog http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/ for script evaluations and industry insight.

A Knight’s Tale – Brian Helgeland – great example of how to incorporate music, as well as take on a period piece with humour.

Dan in Real Life – Pierce Gardner and Peter Hedges – heartwarming example of family drama / romantic comedy.

Stranger than Fiction – Zack Helm – seriously brilliant…and offers tons of insight into the creation of the script.

Juno – Diablo Cody – groundbreaking, wicked cool and reads every bit as quirky as the film.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once more with feeling (the musical script book) – Joss Whedon – includes the sheet music for the songs Whedon composed for this episode, that’s right – words AND music, the background to its creation and then…the very cool script itself.

SIDE NOTE: I also study other script formats, such as graphic novels. Here are some resources if you’re interested…

Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative: Principles and practices from the legendary cartoonist – Will Eisner. Great insight in the development of comics and how to combine words with images.

Panel Discussions with industry storytellers – Durwin S. Talon. Everything you’ve wanted to ask about graphic novels…with real answers.

Panel One: Comic book scripts by top writers – Nat Gertler. Featuring scripts by Neil Gaiman, Jeff Smith, Kurt Busiek and more!