Help for my class- When writing a scene for a screenplay, how can I add lines of dialogue?

Question

At this point, my lines of dialog are purely functional. In a scene I have of two characters, one character has a line of dialogue that serves the point of being an obstacle, followed by a line of dialogue by another character as a reaction/ attempt to overcome the obstacle.

Ex-
Guy: I'm not letting you pass by me b/c you're ugly.
Girl: What? That makes no sense. Let me through.

How can I approach dialogue so that I have more interchange between characters? Is additional banter a tiny disturbance/ goal/ obstacle?

Answer 1

It helps define the characters better

GUY: You can't pass. You're ugly.

GAL: Oh, as if your People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive?
Even Freddy Kruger has a better mug than you.

GUY: That's as maybe, but I have my rules.

GAL: Let's see 'em.

GUY: Huh?

GAL: Let's see these rules. I mean, I could have rules like, if i can't pass I can do this! (Knees him in groin, He goes down). But that wouldn't be nice and kind of me.

GUY: (Groaning in pain) Th...thanks for the...consider..ration.

Play with the characters and have them act as real people and not just words on paper.

Answer 2

You need to put yourself in the respective positions and actually talk out the exchange. Think of why you believe you shouldn't let the girl pass just because she's ugly, and why can't an ugly person pass? You need to expand the thought process and understand the character background before you can make them speak. If it helps, consider how you want your dialogue to end and work backward. What should the girl ultimately say that would make the guy let her pass? What would the guy say that would make the girl respond with that final salvo? (Give it a rest, son. You shouldn't speak to your mother that way. If you don't let me pass, it's liver for dinner.)

I see way too much bad writing by people who use dialogue simply as a means to an end. They have one character say something, then the other that advances to the goal, but if you look at it, what the first said *never* would have generated the response given by the second.

Answer 3

I'd suggest listening carefully to the way people talk for the next few days. Pay attention to how others really speak. This can help you add a sense of realism to your story.

Different characters in a screenplay should sound differently-- think about it, you probably don't have the same manner of speaking as your mother does. Each character should have an individual voice.

Answer 4

The characters would need to be further developed so you allow them to lead into more safisticated conversation and you aren't forcing them to say anything.