Developing Character Through Dialogue: “Great Films for Learning to Write Dialogue”

This resource from the New York Film Academy offers links from movie scenes that each work through a specific problem for writing dialogue. Though we are not writing for film in this class, thinking about writing dialogue is crucial when writing fiction.

This resource addresses the challenges of:

1. writing dialogue between characters who want something from each other– the resource includes a scene from Pulp Fiction
2. writing dialogue between characters to solve a problem–includes a scene from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
3. writing dialogue between characters who attracted to each other but don’t want to be–the resource includes a scene from It Happened One Night
4. writing “sustained” dialogue between characters
5. writing dialogue to reveal a secret-includes t a scene from Jaws 
6. writing a comic dialogue that shows an exaggerated reaction–includes a scene from Mean Girls

With each of these sections is a brief analysis about why the dialogue works and a writing challenge. Use the challenges to create short fiction starters!

https://www.nyfa.edu/student-resources/great-films-for-learning-to-write-dialogue/