In John Howard Lawson’s book, Theory and Technique of Playwriting, he states dramatic dialogue should always be “a compression and extension of action.”

In other words, everything your characters say should be an attempt to advance their agenda, either immediately or long term.

Beginning and novice writers often make the mistake of believing ‘dialogue’ in and of itself suffices for action and are disappointed when it fails to elicit the desired response. Why? Because more often than not it isn’t agenda driven.

Take a look at this example:

“So what do you think, Lloyd?’

“It’s hot out here today, Butch.”

“That ain’t no lie.  And it’s not even June yet.”

“I  bet you could fry an egg on the sidewalk if you wanted to.”

“I don’t doubt it for a minute.”

“Yep.  And it’s supposed to be even hotter tomorrow.”

As compared to:

“You’re not going to make this easy are you, Irene?”

“I’m afraid not, Sheriff. Take one more step and I swear I’ll pull this trigger.”

“You don’t mean that. Put the gun down, tell me where the child’s at, and let’s end this thing.”

“I can’t do that. I’ve been doing that all my life and look at where it’s got me.”

“Do you really want to sacrifice everything for a kid that’s not even yours?”

“Keep coming and you’ll find out.”

See the difference? Whereas both examples show characters in action (speaking), only the second indicates ‘agenda’ driven speech This is the only type of dialogue that should appear in your manuscript unless there’s a very specific reason otherwise. Everything else should be cut. Hope this helps.

Best to all,

Brad Ratzlaff