So you want to be a television scriptwriter

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So you want to be a television scriptwriter!

Do you love watching television series? Most children do. Are you good at writing? You are? So you want to be a television scriptwriter when you grow up! Well there’s one problem! Writing for a television series means you have to be good at writing dialogs. Here are some tips to help you, so when you grow up, you’ll be ready for that television scriptwriting job! Glossary

Scriptwriter: (n.) the person who writes a script for a play, film, or radio program.

Why don’t you start by just listening? Listen to how people talk in real life. Wherever you are (on the bus, at school, in the park) listen to people! How do people really talk? Do they always talk in complete sentences? No, they don’t. Do they sometimes finish other people’s sentences for them? Yes they do. Do they sometimes not listen to what the person they are talking to is saying, and just talk over them? Yes, they do.

That’s what a good dialog has to sound like!

Here’s the next tip for good dialog writing. Dialogs are for speaking. When you write a dialog, even a very short one, always read it aloud. When you read things aloud you can hear how they sound. Sometimes they look good on paper, but when you read them aloud they don’t sound natural.

A good dialog has to sound natural!

Glossary

characters: (pl. n.) people in a novel, play or film. Time for the next tip on how to write a good dialog. When you write a dialog it isn’t you speaking! You are writing what the characters in your dialog are saying. What does that mean? It means you have to know the characters. Sit down and think about them before writing. Ask yourself: “How do these characters speak?”

“Do they use certain words often?

“Are they always clear or do they have to clarify what they want to say?

You can’t write a good dialog until you know who your characters are, and how they speak!

Let’s have a look at the next tip of good dialog writers. Here it is, and it’s to do with characters and human nature!

When people read aloud, they read what is written without stopping. They start at the beginning and they go on to the end. It isn’t like that when people are speaking. They stop! They think! They change subject when things happen, and they say things that have nothing to do with the original topic. Then they get back to the original topic and continue what they started saying at the beginning of the conversation.

When you write a dialog you are writing how people speak. It has to sound like people speak!

Ordinary people are not mad college professors. They don’t talk in very long and very complicated sentences! Most of the time people speak in short sentences. They have to, because the people they are talking to interrupt them if they don’t! What does this mean for the good dialog writer? It means keep to short, simple sentences when you are writing your dialog. That way it will sound like ordinary people speaking! Of course, if one of the characters in your dialog is a mad college professor, you might have to write in longer and more complicated sentences! But not if your characters are ordinary people!

I gotta go now!

What about the language in a good dialog? Well, as we said, the characters have to sound real. That means they have to speak language like people do. And they don’t always speak with perfect grammar!

For example, in good English, using good grammar, we say: “I have to go now!” But lots of people say “I gotta go now!” If one of the characters in your dialog is the type of person who says “I gotta go now!” then that’s how a good dialog writer should write it!

Glossary

skateboard: (n.) a short narrow board with two small wheels fixed to the bottom on which a person can ride in a standing or semi-sitting position, moving by pushing one foot against the ground. Slang describes words that people commonly use, but which could confuse people who don’t know the slang meaning of the words. For example, the word “cool” really means “quite cold,” as in “The weather is cool today.” But the slang meaning is “very good” or “good fun,” as in “Wow! That skateboard is really cool!”

Are the characters in your dialog the type of people that talk in slang? They are? Then, as a good dialog writer, you have to write in slang!

I had a bad day at school

Here is another important tip for the good dialog writer. When you read a dialog or hear a dialog, you should know how the characters are feeling. If one of the characters has a problem, the words in the dialog should make that obvious, even if the character doesn’t say “I have a big problem!” When a character says “I had a bad day at school today” or “I don’t want to go back to school tomorrow, or ever again!” it’s obvious that the character has a problem and is feeling sad. The character doesn’t have to say “I’m feeling very unhappy!”

Usually, when you write a dialog, you write which character is speaking before writing what they are saying. That’s the tradition and it’s fine! But really, in a well-written dialog, it should be obvious Glossary what the relationship is between the characters who are speaking. relationship: (n.) the way in which two or Are they friends? Are they brother more people or things are connected. and sister? Is a student talking to his or her teacher? Is a child talking to friends? Is a kid talking to his mom or dad? The way the characters speak, and the words they use, make it obvious. In a well-written dialog names aren’t really necessary. A good dialog has to show the relationship between the speakers.

When two or more people are speaking, one is always more important in the dialog than the others. For example, when a child goes home and tells his dad that the kids at school are bullying him, the child is more important in the conversation. Why? Because the child is giving the information. The dad is listening and trying to help the child. When you write a dialog decide who is the important character in the conversation before you start! That way the dialog will sound more natural. Glossary bullying: (v.) present paticiple. To harm or intimidate someone.

So now you know how to write a good dialog. Follow these tips and you will soon become a great dialog writer! And who knows? One day you could be a famous television scriptwriter! Good luck!