[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: What is on-the-nose dialogue?
Daniel Calvisi, Script Doctor, Writing Coach and Author: On-the-nose dialogue is dialogue that is generic, it is describing something that we could easily see that is clear in the scene. It’s explaining something, it’s just kind of like lazy dialogue that doesn’t show that character’s voice.
Film Courage: Is there ever a time when it’s okay to write on-the-nose dialogue?
Dan: Every now and then you may have a complicated sequence that you want to help the reader check in and kind of orient themselves so you might have a character say something Why did you bring…I told you to bring the red car? Why did you bring the blue car? Then that reminds the reader that Oh, they switched cars back there remember that? You might want to plant something that is a bit on-the-nose. I don’t feel like a writer should feel the pressure to write [Aaron] Sorkin-esque dialogue for every…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
About:
DANIEL P. CALVISI is a Script Doctor, Writing Coach and the author of Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay and Story Maps: TV DRAMA: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot. He is a former Story Analyst for major studios like Twentieth Century Fox, Miramax Films and New Line Cinema. He coaches writers, teaches webinars on writing for film and television and speaks at writing conferences. Many of his clients have worked with the top networks and studios in the industry, such as Netflix, HBO, Warner Brothers, Disney, Sony, ABC, Showtime, Apple TV+ and more. He holds a degree in Film and Television from New York University. He lives in Los Angeles.
MORE VIDEOS WITH DANIEL CALVISI
BUY THE BOOK – STORY MAPS: How To Write A GREAT Screenplay
http://amzn.to/2hcbRwS
BUY THE BOOK – STORY MAPS: TV Drama: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot (Volume 4)
http://amzn.to/2heFCx5
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