Welcome back to Writing Exercises! Hope you enjoyed the last few weeks of Halloween fun and Community-themed content, but now it’s back to the writing gym!<\/p>\n
As well as a relevant video essay I’ve found, I’m giving you writing exercises to use if you’re keen to either explore and experiment or need some motivations to start a new script or novel.<\/p>\n
It’s exercises like this that form part of my One Hour Screenwriter<\/a> course, which will help you write an entire feature film script in 22 weeks. You can purchase it at the shop here<\/a>. You can also read testimonies here<\/a>\u00a0that show my methods have worked for a variety of writers.<\/p>\n This week, you’ll be writing about talking:<\/p>\n Each of your characters should have a distinctive way of speaking. A reader should be able to tell who is talking by the dialogue alone, without necessarily looking at the character\u2019s name. \u00a0Check out Talk Like a Gangster on Types Tuesday.<\/p>\n Use the following exercise to practice creating a distinctive \u201cvoice\u201d for each of your characters.<\/p>\n First, find a physical practice subject. Cut out a series of comic strips (all featuring the same characters) from your local newspaper, buy a comic book, or find a series of comics on the web. Use comic strip characters you don\u2019t know well but which interest you visually.<\/p>\n Block out or white out the dialogue in the individual speech bubbles. Photocopy the story panels with the now blank bubbles.<\/p>\n Look at the visual element of the comic, without the words. Note the style and tone of the drawings. Re-imagine the characters and story. Make it your own.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Fill in the blank speech bubbles with your own imaginary dialogue. Find a different rhythm and sentence construction for each character. Make your characters\u2019 speech patterns reflect how they look visually.<\/p>\n Is one character\u2019s speech more verbose and flowery than another? Is another character crisper and minimal in the way he or she speaks? Does one character joke in order to make a point? Does another preach and scold? Does another always try to impress?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Experiment with different speaking styles. Be consistent in creating each individual character\u2019s way of communicating. Make each character\u2019s speech pattern reflect that specific person.<\/p>\n Can you make the visual images work with the dialogue? Can you use the visuals as an interesting counterpoint or contrast to what is being said?<\/p>\n What happens when characters have a serious discussion in a silly setting? What happens if they have a silly argument in a serious setting? How can you reveal character by small discussions or ridiculous disputes that reflect much deeper underlying concerns?<\/p>\n For example, create an argument about taking out the kitchen trash. Make the deeper underlying concern about a larger issue in the relationship or a more fundamental personal dissatisfaction between the two.<\/p>\n Now how can you apply these principles to the characters in your screenplay? How can you make each of your characters\u2019 speech patterns more distinctive?<\/p>\n How do their speech patterns reflect their individual personalities? How does it match or is it at odds with their physical appearance?<\/p>\n How can you use setting or location to underscore, be a counterpoint or comment on the discussion?<\/p>\n How can your characters reveal themselves by the mundane or foolish things they argue about? How does the argument reflect larger disagreements?<\/p>\n How Characters communicate tells us everything about them, from how to talk to others and also how they express themselves (or avoid exposing themselves.<\/p>\n We communicate with family members in a different way to friends than with enemies, for example. This excellent video essay talks us through the different ways three brothers communicate on the road-trip of a lifetime in Wes Anderson’s\u00a0The Darjeeling Limited<\/em>:<\/p>\nCreate Distinctive Speech Patterns<\/h3>\n
Video Essay of the Week<\/h3>\n