Playwriting - Part 7A - Creating Unique Dialogue, Finding Speech Patterns

A habit that all playwrights fall into at times is making all the characters have the same pattern of speech. They all might sound like the playwright or they all might sound like somebody the playwright knows. It is natural to write what you know, so it is natural to write dialogue like you hear it or think about it.

However, a play doesn't work when all the characters talk the same way. Characters have to be different in vocal and conversational styles. One way to start to figure this is out is to listen to different people talk. Find the differences in their speech. Even use people who have different conditions to help create your characters.

A way to get into this is to keep notes for yourself about the specific things you hear from certain people. For example, I know that I often end my sentences by saying, "Ya, know?" However, when I say that, I don't catch it. I don't remember saying it, either. I will only truly hear it if it has been recorded and played back. It's not something that I catch, but others do. However, I could assign that to one of the characters in my play.

My sister has Asperger's and one of the things she tends to do is constantly repeat an answer or a phrase even when somebody has never asked her something. She seems to hear it like somebody has asked her. Or, she'll repeat the phrase or the general idea about three or four times. Even if a character doesn't have Asperger's or a similar condition, I can still use that style of speech for a character.

When I was in high school, I had a friend that would come into a room and say, "Eep!" as a greeting. I've had teachers that greet students by saying, "Howdy." I've had teachers that always complained about being at school to teach. I could use the greetings with characters. I could use the complaining with characters.

My list would probably look something like this:

• Ending sentence with "Ya, know?"
• Repeating answers or phrases three or four times for no reason
• Greeting a room of people by saying "Eep!"
• Greeting students by saying, "Howdy."
• Always complaining about being at work/the situation

Your characters are human, so make them human. Give them little quirks and remember that creative writing is not the same as formal writing.

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