My Secret Screenwriting Shame!

Okay, confession time...

I used to hate writing dialogue. There, I said it.

For years, I treated dialogue in my screenplays like that weird relative at a family gathering. I acknowledged its existence, but I mostly tried to avoid it. I know, I know... for a screenwriter, that's practically blasphemy, right? But c'mon, let's talk about scene descriptions for a moment... Lord, I could craft those all day! Setting the mood, describing the action, painting a picture with words, now that's my forte.

Dialogue on the other hand? No, thank you. Give me a script with long stretches of silence, like "A Quiet Place," and I'd be in heaven. I used to secretly wish I could write an entire screenplay without a single spoken word.

Truth is, well, besides the fact that most movies kind of need dialogue, there was always this lingering feeling that I was missing out on something big. I'd read scripts with crackling, witty banter, with heartbreaking confessions, with lines that stayed in my head long after I finished reading. And I'd think, "I want to do that." But then I'd try, and... your guess is as good as mine... epic fail.

My characters sounded like robots giving a presentation. It was stilted, unnatural, and frankly, boring. I was convinced I was just a "visual writer," destined to forever describe the wrinkles around a character's eyes, the way their hair fell across their forehead, the peeling wallpaper in a dimly lit room, the cracked tiles on the floor, or the way someone's hand trembled as they reached for a cup. I even used to console myself with, "actions speak louder than words."

But you know one thing about that statement? It began to sound better in my head than on paper, because slowly but surely, I came to a painful dawning realization that I couldn't avoid dialogue forever if I wanted to be a good screenwriter.

So, I swallowed my pride, admitted my weakness, and started searching for help. That's when I stumbled upon Robert McKee's "Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for the Page, Stage and Screen." This book legit changed everything.

McKee made me realize that dialogue is more than just words. It's about the actions and intentions behind them. Every line, every exchange, should be driven by a character's desire and should move the story forward. He introduced me to concepts like:

• Subtext: The unspoken meaning beneath the surface. Have you seen the move "Titanic?" Of course you have. Remember that scene where Jack says, "You jump, I jump, remember?" he's not just stating a literal action. He is talking about his commitment to Rose. He is speaking of love, devotion, and a willingness to sacrifice everything for her. That's subtext at its finest, and Titanic is one of my favorite movies of all time, by the way.

  Let's take another example... "Snakes on a Plane" (another one of my faves). When Samuel Jackson yells, "I have had it with these motherf---ing snakes on theis motherf---ing plane!", better believe he's not just talking about snakes. He's expressing the audience's frustration, the absurdity of the situation, and the primal urge to just freak out. It's over-the-top, but it's subtext.

Titanic

• Verbal Action: Characters don't just talk; they persuade, they threaten, they seduce, they confess. Every line has a purpose. Cast your mind back to that scene in "The Godfather" when Don Corleone says, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"? That's not just dialogue; it's a veiled threat, a power play, a defining character moment.

  Okay, let's even bring it back home -- Omoni Oboli's most talked about movie, "Love in Every Word." Remember the popular line by Odogwu Obiora (our Odugwu Pararan 😁), "Achalugo, I'm going to marry you." It's a simple line, right? Five words. Five simple words. But the way he says it, the confidence, the declaration, it's not just a statement, it's a promise, a vow, a whole damn story wrapped up in a single sentence! Trust me, that's why it resonated with so many people. That, my friend, is verbal action.

The Godfather

• The "Turn": Dialogue shouldn't be predictable. It should have turns, surprises, moments where the power dynamic shifts. Let's bring in my personal favorite: "Game of Thrones," Season 1. The scene where Ned Stark confronts Cersei Lannister about her children's true parentage. He believes he has the upper hand, offering her a chance to flee. But Cersei turns the tables with the chilling line, "When you play the game of thrones, you win, or you die. There is no middle ground." The turn here is that Cersei reveals the true stakes of the conflict, shifting the power dynamic completely and foreshadowing Ned's death. It's a moment where the viewers, and Ned, realize he has underestimated his opponent. 

Game of Thrones

So, I started studying dialogue like my career depended on it. I watched local and foreign films with new eyes. I listened to conversations around me, in danfos, at the market, trying to catch the rhythm and the subtext. I rewrote my old scripts, and you know what? My characters started to talk! They started to argue, to flirt, to confess, to live on the page. It wasn't easy, but it was worth it (in Cece Winans' voice lol).

I'm still learning, still practicing, still trying to write that one line that'll trend on X (Twitter) like "Achalugo, I'm going to marry you" LOL. But I'm no longer avoiding dialogue. I'm embracing it. I'm even starting to like it. Don't tell my scene descriptions I said that.

So, tell me, dearest gentle reader, what's your favorite line from a local or foreign film, or even a book? I'm soooo curious to know.