🎬 Writing Scenes and Dialogue: The Heart of Your Film
Imagine you’re building a house made of LEGO blocks. Each block is a scene. The words your LEGO people say to each other? That’s dialogue. And the secret message hidden inside your LEGO house? That’s your theme. Let’s learn how to build amazing movie houses together!
🗣️ Writing Dialogue: Making Characters Talk Like Real People
What Is Dialogue?
Dialogue is when characters talk to each other in your movie. But here’s the secret: movie dialogue isn’t like real talking. It’s better!
Think of it like this: When you talk to your friend, you say things like:
“Um, hey, so like, I was thinking, maybe, you know, we could go to the park?”
But in movies, characters say:
“Let’s go to the park!”
Movie dialogue is shorter, cleaner, and every word matters.
The 3 Golden Rules of Great Dialogue
1. Every Character Sounds Different 🎭
Imagine a pirate, a princess, and a robot. They wouldn’t all say “Hello!” the same way, right?
| Character | How They Say “Hello” |
|---|---|
| Pirate | “Ahoy, matey!” |
| Princess | “Good day, fair friend.” |
| Robot | “Greetings. Human detected.” |
Example: In Finding Nemo, Dory says things Marlin would never say. Dory: “Just keep swimming!” Marlin: “I have to find my son!”
2. Show, Don’t Tell 👀
Bad dialogue tells us feelings directly:
“I am very angry right now!”
Good dialogue shows feelings through actions and words:
“Get. Out. Of. My. Room.” (slams door)
The audience is smart! They can figure out emotions without being told.
3. Subtext: The Hidden Meaning 🕵️
Sometimes characters say one thing but mean something else. This is subtext—like a secret code!
| What They Say | What They Really Mean |
|---|---|
| “I’m fine.” | “I’m not fine at all.” |
| “Do whatever you want.” | “I really don’t want you to do that.” |
| “It’s getting late.” | “I want you to leave.” |
Example: A mom asks her teenager, “Did you clean your room?” The teenager says, “I was busy with homework.” The real message? “No, I didn’t clean it.”
🎬 Writing Scenes: The Building Blocks of Your Movie
What Is a Scene?
A scene is like one chapter in a book or one level in a video game. It happens in ONE place, at ONE time, and something CHANGES by the end.
SCENE = One Location + One Time Period + One Change
The Anatomy of a Perfect Scene
Every scene needs 3 things:
graph TD A[🎯 GOAL] --> B[🚧 CONFLICT] B --> C[💥 CHANGE] C --> D[Scene Ends]
1. GOAL: What does the character want?
Maybe they want to find their lost dog, get a cookie, or save the world.
2. CONFLICT: What’s stopping them?
The door is locked, someone says no, or a dragon appears!
3. CHANGE: How is everything different now?
They succeed, they fail, or they discover something new.
Scene Example: The Cookie Mission 🍪
GOAL: Timmy wants a cookie from the kitchen.
CONFLICT: Mom is in the kitchen. She said no more cookies.
CHANGE: Timmy learns Mom was saving the cookie for his birthday surprise. Now he feels loved instead of hungry.
See how the scene started with wanting a cookie but ended with a completely different feeling?
How to Start and End Scenes
Start LATE: Jump into the action. Don’t show the character waking up, eating breakfast, driving… Just start when the interesting stuff happens!
❌ Bad: “Tom woke up. He brushed his teeth. He ate cereal. He walked to school. He saw the dragon.”
✅ Good: “Tom froze. A dragon was blocking the school entrance.”
End EARLY: Leave before everything is explained. Make the audience curious!
🌟 Theme in Storytelling: Your Movie’s Secret Message
What Is a Theme?
A theme is the big lesson or main idea of your story. It’s like the message inside a fortune cookie!
Common themes in movies:
| Theme | Example Movie |
|---|---|
| Friendship is powerful | Toy Story |
| Be yourself | Shrek |
| Love conquers fear | Frozen |
| Never give up | Finding Nemo |
How to Weave Theme Into Your Scenes
You don’t say the theme out loud. You show it through:
- What characters do (actions)
- What characters choose (decisions)
- What happens to characters (consequences)
Example: Theme = “Honesty is the best policy”
- Scene 1: Character lies → Gets what they want
- Scene 2: Lie grows bigger → Gets harder to hide
- Scene 3: Truth comes out → Character loses trust
- Scene 4: Character tells truth → Earns respect back
The audience understands the theme without anyone saying “Hey, you should be honest!”
Theme vs. Topic: What’s the Difference?
| Topic | Theme |
|---|---|
| Friendship | True friends stick together in hard times |
| Family | Family isn’t just blood—it’s who loves you |
| Fear | Facing your fears makes you stronger |
Topic = one word. Theme = a complete thought.
🔀 Subplots: The Side Quests of Your Movie
What Is a Subplot?
Your main story is like a highway. A subplot is a smaller road that runs alongside it. It makes the journey more interesting!
graph TD A[🚗 MAIN PLOT] --> B[Hero saves the world] C[🛤️ SUBPLOT 1] --> D[Hero learns to trust friends] E[🛤️ SUBPLOT 2] --> F[Villain's daughter questions him]
Why Do We Need Subplots?
- They reveal character - We see different sides of people
- They support the theme - Multiple stories, same message
- They add variety - Action scene → quiet moment → action again
- They raise stakes - More reasons to care
The 3 Types of Subplots
1. Love/Relationship Subplot 💕
The main character makes a new friend or falls in love while saving the world.
Example: In The LEGO Movie, Emmet meets Wyldstyle while trying to save the universe.
2. Internal Growth Subplot 🌱
The character battles something inside themselves—fear, anger, or doubt.
Example: In Inside Out, while Riley deals with moving (main plot), Joy learns that sadness is important too (subplot).
3. Parallel Story Subplot 🪞
A side character goes through something similar to the main character.
Example: In Shrek, while Shrek learns to accept himself, Donkey learns to be a true friend.
How Subplots Connect to Main Plots
Good subplots crash into the main plot at important moments:
graph TD A[Main Plot Problem] --> B[Subplot Character Helps] B --> C[Main Plot Solved] D[Subplot Problem] --> E[Main Character Helps] E --> F[Subplot Solved]
Example:
- Main Plot: Hero needs to stop the villain
- Subplot: Hero’s little brother feels ignored
- Connection: Little brother discovers the villain’s secret, saves the day, and finally feels important!
🎯 Putting It All Together
When you write a scene:
- ✅ Give characters a GOAL
- ✅ Add CONFLICT that stops them
- ✅ Show CHANGE by the end
- ✅ Make dialogue sound unique to each character
- ✅ Use subtext (hidden meanings)
- ✅ Support your THEME with actions, not words
- ✅ Weave SUBPLOTS that connect to your main story
🌈 Your Turn to Feel Confident!
Writing scenes and dialogue is like cooking. You have ingredients (goal, conflict, change), a recipe (scene structure), and a secret spice (theme). The more you practice mixing them together, the tastier your story becomes!
Remember:
- Every word of dialogue should reveal character or push the story forward
- Every scene should change something
- Your theme should hide inside your characters’ choices
- Your subplots should enrich, not distract from, your main story
You’re not just writing words. You’re building worlds.
Now go create something amazing! 🎬✨