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Writing Dialogue for Scripts (Books for Writers)

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Writing Dialogue for Scripts (Books for Writers) (Paperback)

by Rib Davis (Author)

3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 160 pages
Publisher: A & C Black Publishers Ltd (31 Mar 1998)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0713648023
ISBN-13: 978-0713648027
Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 13.4 x 1.2 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 429,169 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#72 in Books > Reference > Writing > Play & Scriptwriting

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Product Description

Review

" Oh it's delicious! " --Reviews Gate, 12th August 2008 --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Description

This work deals with the genres of stage, radio, television and film, providing examples and giving practical advice. Chapters deal with conversation, naturalistic and stylised dialogue, pace and variation, scripted narration, comic dialogue and presentation. As well as highlighting the ways in which dialogue varies from one genre to another, this book shows how many of the skills of writing dialogue may in fact be applied to all other script genres. The author assesses different types of dialogue in the 20th century from Oscar Wilde to Quentin Tarantino.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to write good dialogue, buy this!, 30 April 2001

By A Customer

An excellent book. The author begins by exploring how people really talk, then moves on to examine how we need to adapt this when writing fictional dialogue, to retain the essence of realism without the boredom factor. He goes on to look at the different styles of dialogue, from realism and heightened realism to the highly stylised dialogue written by people such as Oscar Wilde. Fascinating stuff, with gems of relevant info on every page.

Unlike many books on fiction writing, the author does not talk down to the reader. Neither does he include general fiction-writing info which is not strictly relevant to the title of the tome - a huge bonus, since it can be irritating when every fiction-writing guide you pick up, whatever its professed subject matter, tells you the same fundamental stuff you've read a thousand times before. Full marks for sticking to the subject and covering it in depth, rather than padding it out with "general" writing tips.

I strongly recommend this book.

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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shows you how to improve dialogue and avoid the many traps, 23 Jan 2001

By	richstokes@dingoblue.net.au (Australia) - See all my reviews

Although primarily aimed at scriptwriting, this book reveals how inexperienced writers tend to come out with atrocious lines when they attempt dialogue. The author presents good examples of the common pitfalls. I particularly like the section in Chapter Four when he examines a stretch of crap dialogue and then proceeds to fix the material up. I found this kind of practical advice very useful. In comparison,Stephen King's recent book on writing is a disappointing swindle.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Probably as good as can be expected for such a specialised topic, 1 Mar 2009

By	T. Harries "Flying Chumpino" (Paris, France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Writing Dialogue for Scripts: Effective Dialogue for Film, TV, Radio and Stage (Writing Handbooks) (Paperback)

I think when I bought this book I was hoping for some real insights into dialogue and good techniques to use when writing it. However after finishing I am not left with this feeling...But I don't think it's necessarily the author's fault.

To be fair I think writing about such a specialised topic is difficult and perhaps this is the most insight one can learn.
The author often slips into talking about what makes a good character/plot, and not specifically what makes good dialogue. But I can't blame him given that dialogue is so inherently linked to these other elements. I feel the overall message is; get the basics of the book right and to an extent the dialogue will come.

On top of that there are a few tips such as remembering to write how people speak i.e accents, verbal mannerisms etc. but that seemed fairly evident to me.

So in conclusion, it's probably the subject rather than the writing that makes this book unrewarding.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as it could have been.
There are far better books out there that are more rounded and more helpful. The problem with this book is that it is too specialised. Read more

Published 2 months ago by J. Staniford

5.0 out of 5 stars Gets to the heart of dialogue
This is not a book about screenwriting but a book about dialogue and one which does the job excellently. Read more

Published 16 months ago by Stephen Ince

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful book
This is a great book. It gives great advice on how to write good dialogue dealing with many different styles of dialogue and how it changes between the different mediums of... Read more

Published on 3 Mar 2006 by orion801

1.0 out of 5 stars Really bad
Do not buy this book! It is a waste of money. There are a lot of books on screenwriting. Some are good. Some are bad. This is not a good one. Read more

Published on 21 Mar 2002

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