36. Dialogue Tools: Three Tricks to Flesh Out Your Character and Bring Out Their Nuances

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:
This week's episode explores three new tools that screenwriters and novelists can employ to enrich the dialogue exchanges of their characters.

Tool #1: Give your characters something to pursue.

People are always in the middle of doing something. Make sure you know where your characters just were and what they're on their way to doing. Their life is already in motion. Let the dialogue come in the midst of action.

• Giving your characters a good profession helps accomplish this goal. A good profession automatically gives the character an objective.

Tool #2: Cast the character.

Picture an actor in the role so you can nail the voice/sound of the character. Joe Pesci sounds different than Al Pacino. Gwyneth Paltrow sounds different than Cameron Diaz. Casting the character in your head will keep you from writing in a vacuum, and can help bring out different levels of vocabulary, etc.

Tool #3: Act it out.

Try improvising the scene with yourself, or ask actor friends to act it out. This will often solve the missing piece of the puzzle, and brings out nuances in the ways the characters relate.

UP NEXT
Next week we will explore a few more of my favorite dialogue tools, including how you can expose backstory and get the information out that you need the audience to get. This is one of the best tools you'll ever learn, so you don't want to miss the next show!

QUESTIONS OR TOPIC REQUESTS? 

If you have a question about this or any other episode, or if you have a specific topic that you would like Zena to address, click on the link below to leave a voicemail recording with your problem, question, or issue.

https://www.speakpipe.com/ZenaDellLowe

SPECIAL THANKS

The Storyteller's Mission with Zena Dell Lowe would like to thank composer Carla Patullo for the original music she graciously permits us to use in the intro and outro of this podcast. To find out more about this amazing talent, go to  www.carlapatullo.com

Tags: Artist, Artists, Writing tips, Writing Advice, Writing Podcast, Crafting a Story, Crafting Dialogue, Writers, Writer, Author, Novelist, Screenwriter, Story, Storytelling, Storytellers, Zena Dell Lowe, Mission Ranch Films, The Storyteller's Mission, The Mission with Zena Dell Lowe