Script writing and dialogue

A few months ago I received a review from a $ 5 online concert site for my first script and the reviewer told me something about the dialogue in my script that I had never heard before. She told me that I write “in the nose dialogue”. Dialogue on the nose is not a good thing and has to do with writing what a character says as “exactly what he wants to say”, rather than showing what he wants to say using subtext. Subtext is a visual way of showing something in a way rather than telling something in a script. This was a lesson I learned the hard way, because after thinking about the critic’s comments for a while I finally agreed that at least in some parts, she was right that I was using dialogue “on the nose” too many times.

He would come to remember as he continued to write the mantra of “show instead of tell.” In a movie, too much dialogue is considered boring primarily because movies are a visual medium rather than a radio show or narrated documentary. Over time, I have changed some of the dialogue in my first script, but it was not possible to eliminate all the nose problems, at least not in the first 5 or 6 rewrites.

An example of a correction for a nose error in a script would be for the character, instead of saying “I love you,” he would instead show his love with a look or a hug or some other action. Again, show rather than tell is always a good example of using subtext in a script.

Along with all of this, I am learning that following some of the basic formulas of writing a script is also very important and they include having a main character who has a goal and an opposition to that goal. The main character must be motivated and has room to grow throughout the script. The main character must also be credible not only as a person but also in his actions throughout the script. Having all of this in view across 110 pages of a script is sometimes not easy, so many rewrites may be necessary when writing a script. While you are rewriting and making changes, you always have to worry that the original thought of the film is not lost or that some character or some idea or point of the film is not broken due to all the changes that you are making.

I have completed 3 scripts so far, but I am still modifying my third script because I still don’t love the ending. Screenwriting has been considered the most challenging art form, and for my part, I believe in that idea.