The Key to Writing Freakishly Good Dialogue | Video Essay

The consultation thing is paused right now. There is no waitlist. I made this video when my channel was much smaller. If consultations come back, it will have to be a raffle of some kind. I cannot accommodate the thousands of people who want my help. Thanks 👽

I was about to comment about how insanely quickly I got invested in this Philip and Kima's drama but then the ad began and I couldn't stop laughing.

"I still remember the last words he ever said to me before walking out of my life forever." "What did he say?" "I-I can't, it still hurts to think about..." Her therapist jotted down another note with a vacant expression. He pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "What did he say? The healing process can only begin once you've fully internalized the memories that have caused you such pain. What, did he say?" She swallowed, grimacing as if the memory itself had a bitter taste. "This... this video..." The therapist leaned forward, his expression almost hungry with anticipation. "Finish it." "This video... is sponsored by Skillshare..."

"I don't want it to be easy. I just want it to be real. Please, tell me if it was real." "This video is sponsored by skillshare." That is perhaps the most beautiful writing I have ever seen. Not only does he demonstrate, that his feelings were never real. He demonstrates that nothing was real. They are characters, written to serve a purpose. At that moment he fully stepped away from being "real" with her, by entirely dedicating himself to fulfilling the contractual obligations of his writer.

"conflict is the state in which characters reveal things about themselves" Is a great quote

This is the greatest sponsorship integration of all time

Can we get an F in the chat for our girl Kima? Her man wasn't just leaving her for Icarus, but he is also a Skillshare salesperson. Completely devastating, and then he went and told her her jaw stank! Oh she must be in shambles, utter shambles!

this is how you fucking teach. explaining a premise, explaining why its used, showing what its like when it isnt used, and then showing what its like when it IS used. if my English teacher thought this way, my stories in class would have been so much better.

"Not key moments connected by vibes. Scenes." That hit right in the feels, man😢

i love that the fake dialogue looked just like something i could hear in a bad movie or read out of a shitty wattpad fic

The fact that the ad read was so hilarious to me just shows how well the writing of that scene really draws you into these characters. That's so genius and I respect it soo much.

That sponsorship segment. That small section. That transition. That’s all I needed to see to know that you most definitely know how to write freakishly good dialogue

I'm a novelist and this was some seriously profound stuff. Other writers wish they could teach as good as you. I'll have to rewatch this video several times to truly absorb what I've heard, but I'm excited to put it into practice!

I was waiting for the scene to end with Phillip saying "No it wasn't" and then you hit us with something even more devastating, an adread. You connected the audience to kimas feelings, we too are betrayed and told our investment in the scene wasn't real. good writing lol

You hammering home that "vibes don't write stories" in every video will single-handedly save an entire generation of writers, mark my words. It's such a legitimate epidemic.

8:44 not her being confused in thebackground xD

i’ve been just downloading tons of writing data into my brain to create a comic, and this video actually is the first one to directly show solutions to my problem. i’ve got this group of passionate but also argumentative weirdos who have to work together to survive, when they disagree on how to go about surviving. i haven’t actually figured out how to expand their differences, but now i have to try weird how comic scripts and screenplays are so similar

Remember kids, any crap can be good and deep as long as some youtuber makes a overanalytical video on it.

The exposition between Phillip and Kima was really good. People are often annoyed by info dumps because they're intrusive or unrealistic, but sometimes people info dump in real life. Phillip was trying to avoid a serious discussion, and had interesting trivial to share. It was some of the most natural exposition I've heard, and it said as much about Phillip as about the world.

00:27 📝 Dialogue is the last step in the writing process, after central idea, characters, conflict, and scenes. 00:42 📝 In screenplays, if information isn't communicated within a scene, it's not communicated at all. 01:24 📝 Dialogue is a tool to communicate information in a story, including factual, emotional, and cultural details. 02:35 📝 When writing dialogue, consider how the character would naturally communicate information in their situation. 03:03 📝 To effectively write dialogue, list all the information a scene needs to communicate. 03:58 📝 Define your character's priorities in a scene to serve as a filter for their dialogue. 04:41 📝 Characters should have clear objectives in a scene to guide their dialogue. 05:50 📝 Dialogue scenes should be situation-specific and interact with the location and props. 08:27 📝 Conflict is essential in dialogue scenes to reveal character traits and advance the story. 14:46 📝 Use subtext to add depth to dialogue scenes by having characters convey emotions indirectly. 16:56 📝 Incorporate the "yes and" improv technique to keep dialogue scenes dynamic and engaging. 17:49 📝 The creator's focus is on providing writing strategies and frameworks to help others improve