Gloria Film Festival 2008

"Dialogue and Characterization." Dialogue arises out of characterization and situation. Characterization arises out of back story. Until you understand these concepts and elements, your dialogue will never be completely believable. We've all seen those films in which the characterization and dialogue alienate us from the story because they are not believable and do not help drive the story forward. You need to know how to create your protagonist, antagonist, hero's ally, their backstories and motivations and the enabling circumstances that they all find themselves in at the beginning of your screenplay. Characters and dialogue are the two elements that will make or break your story and if you do not know what you're doing when creating those two elements, you will lose your credibility with the audience, you will pull your audience out of your story and may never be able to pull them back in. These are the two most crucial elements of a well-written screenplay and the success of your script and of your screenwriting career depend on mastering their use.