How to Write Screenplay Dialogue: Subtext and Parentheticals
How to write screenplay dialogue with subtext, not on-the-nose lines. Character cues, parentheticals, distinct voices and a real rewrite from The Night Ferry.
Chapters (10)
In this lesson you will learn
- How the character cue, the dialogue and the parenthetical work together
- How ScreenWeaver suggests existing characters and switches between character and dialogue
- When a parenthetical helps, and why too many of them hurt
- How to write subtext instead of on-the-nose dialogue
- How to cut lines, keep them short and give each character a distinct voice
- When to use transitions and the shot element
This lesson covers how to write screenplay dialogue, built on three elements that travel together: the character cue, the dialogue and, sometimes, a parenthetical. You see how ScreenWeaver suggests existing characters as you type, creates new ones on the fly and switches between character and dialogue with the Enter key.
Then the craft: why parentheticals should be rare, how subtext works when two characters seem to argue about the time, and how an on-the-nose confession from The Night Ferry is rewritten into an action and two words, Hi, Dad. You learn to say less, keep lines short, read them out loud and give each character a distinct voice. The lesson ends with transitions and the shot element, both used sparingly, and the rule of one name per character.
Full transcript
0:04Now the voices. Dialogue in a screenplay is made of three elements that always travel together. The character cue, the dialogue, and sometimes a parenthetical.
0:15Choose character in the toolbar and type the name. Maya. While you type, Screenweaver suggests the characters that already exist. If the name is new, the list offers to create it. Confirm, and Maya is added to your characters. Press Enter, and the editor switches to dialogue on its own.
0:37Type her line. Wait, please. I need to cross tonight. Press Enter at the end of a line of dialogue, and the editor switches back to character, ready for the answer. Elias. No passengers after midnight. Back and forth, like a conversation.
0:56Now the parenthetical. A short note in brackets under the name on how a line is said, or what the character does while saying it. Elias. Sighing. Get in. Don't touch anything. Use them rarely. If every line has a parenthetical, none of them matters. Let the words and the actions carry the tone.
1:19What makes dialogue good? Subtext. People rarely say what they mean. Listen to this exchange. It's two minutes past. That's after midnight. On the surface, they're arguing about the time. Underneath, he's lonely and stubborn, and she's desperate. We understand both without anyone saying it.
1:42Let's rewrite an on -the -nose line. First draft. Maya. I'm your daughter, and I came back because I miss you, and I'm sorry I left. Everything is said, so nothing is felt. The rewrite? Right? She doesn't answer. She sets the compass on the dashboard next to his. Then, only when he says her name, Hi, Dad. Two words do what the long line couldn't, because the audience gets there first.
2:12A good test for any scene. Could the characters say less? Cut every line you can, then put back only the ones the scene can't live without. He'll be surprised how often silence, a look, or an object does the work better.
2:28Keep lines short. Real people speak in fragments. Interrupt each other, and avoid the question. Read every line out loud. If it sounds like a sentence from a book, cut it in half.
2:41And make every character sound different. Elias speaks in short, closed sentences. Long enough. Not tonight. Come on. Maya speaks in questions and half answers. If you cover the names and can still tell who's speaking, your dialogue is working.
3:00Two more elements to use sparingly. Transitions, like fade in, cut to, or fade out, mark the passage between scenes. Modern scripts use very few. A fade in at the start, a fade out at the end. And the shot element, to call out a specific angle, like a close -up on the compass, only when the story depends on it.
3:22One last rule. The same is for places. Write each name exactly the same way, every time. Maya is always Maya. A different spelling creates a different character, and later, a different face on screen.
3:37Your exercise. Write the dialogue of your first scene. Short lines, one parenthetical at most, and at least one exchange with subtext. Next, we'll put it all together. Keyboard only.