Dialogue, it’s a crucial part of any successful script, but also the easiest element to get wrong. Novice writers will often write flat dialogue where characters simply state how they feel, asserting a beat within a scene instead of massaging it into place. If a character is tired, a flat piece of dialogue will express that beat in a line like “I’m sleepy.” while richer dialogue might have the character remark at the time, showing the day has gotten away from him, while matching his words with the action of a yawn. Stating “I’m tired” to express the beat “I’m tired” is obvious, and it’s what’s known as “On the Nose” dialogue.
So, how do we avoid this common mistake?
Well, one way to avoid this might seem counterintuitive, but it could work for you in the long run. If you want to avoid on the nose dialogue, write on the nose dialogue. It’s simple, the better we understand a problem, the easier it is to avoid it when we come across it later. Many writers struggle with scene structure and often times this boils down to the fact that they don’t fully understand what their characters want going into the scene and they get lost along the way.
Sitting down to write flat, on the nose dialogue before you even begin to write a scene can help you visualize and focus in on what it is that a character wants in any individual scene. Once this is out there, the writer can take those raw beats, emotions, and feelings from the on the nose dialogue and infuse it into the subtext of the scene they’re about to write.
JAWS
Here’s a short example from a scene most of you will be familiar with. In Jaws, there’s an early encounter between Hooper, the young scientist who relies on gadgets and technology to deal with the shark, and Quint, the hardened fisherman who finds all that silly. The beats of the scene unfold like this: Quint thinks Hooper looks like an ass with all of his equipment, Hooper counters by stating it’s all necessary, and Quint thinks it’ll get him killed.
Here’s what the scene would look like with on the nose dialogue.
Quint: You don’t need all that stuff. You look dumb.
And here’s how the real scene plays out.
The Beginning
You’re not alone with this problem, but next time you’re looking at a page that’s on the nose, remember, you don’t look dumb, you’re a half-assed astronaut.
Nice work, Rob!
“the better we understand a problem, the easier it is to avoid it”
Genius. I often write loads of dialogue when a story is coming to me before I even sit down to beat it out.
That was so helpful. Thanks for not making a writer feel like an inept creative when learning this process. I’ve received the note to be careful of OTN dialogue. Yet in the same notes was told i write great characters with distinct voices. Wacky.
This is great! I’m gonna start utilizing this now. Probably save me so much more time – thanks!
This is an incredibly helpful message! I look back at some of my scripts now and my characters talk like robots. lol
Wow, VERY helpful!
Great advice!
Well, don’t tell David Mamet.
Or you can do what Stallone did before he wrote Rocky and Quentin did when he was a struggling actor. Take any scene from any movie(preferably a good movie) and write it yourself from memory. Then write it again and again until it’s yours. You can create entire stories from this technique and it’s fun to see how the original scene started to how it became your own.
Very good article. I’m going through a few of these issues as well..
Great article Rob!
That’s why it’s so beneficial to be able to read the earliest drafts of scripts that went on to be produced; to see how the ‘on the nose’ stuff actually ended up being played out on screen. BUT they are so hard to come by.