I was thinking about screen writing and it occured to me that it must be extremely hard to write in the screen writer's style and yet make it read in the actor's way of speaking.
One of the most famous lines in literature reads "Et tu Brutus." John Wayne's interpretation in his style could read: "Wal there Pilgrim. I guess you're in on this here plot too." The actors in Monty Pythons Flying Circus might well say, "Well Old Thing, a butter knife just won't cut it."
The writer wrote "Et tu Brutus", one of the most emotion evoking words ever written, and yet there are only three of them. Those three words express so much and cause such reactions, and it considers all the character's background or personality. The hero and heroine have characteristics and baggage that should be apparent in how they express themselves How do these characteristics and baggage affect the lines they say?
Those examples are pretty extreme but the principle applies to our characters and how they would speak.
Another perhaps extreme example is this:a character introduces himself on his arrival at another character's home. What words are spoken to him tells a lot about the second character's style or personality - who he or she is. Here are several examples of different characters' approach to the situation.
1. "I'm pleased to meet you".
2. "Hey Dude, come on in."
3. "Ah. Please do come in sir. Atkins, please call for tea to be served in the Blue Salon".
4. "This is my son and heir's home. King John has no right to hand it to you. You are not welcome here".
5. It is your duty. Pray allow me a few moments to prepare myself".
Who might have said these lines, expressing their background and style?
The Fonz
The Queen,
Cicero
Sir Frothingschloss and Lady Sir Frothingshcloss
The widow of a Crusader.
Each character has their own voice, based on who and what they are. When you write a piece of dialogue for them, it must express their voice and its origins. You have created the character - or at least have written what the character has told you who he or she is. You must have them express themselves based on those characteristics. That means you must not only know their characteristics, but you must also pay attention to how those characteristics have influenced them. Then you have to express all that background in a few words.
Consider the widow of the Crusader. She is a weak woman who has been beaten down by her husband all her married life. She is terrified that she and her children will be tossed out of the castle to live by their wits.
Or, she is an aggressive woman defending her little brother who is the heir to the property. She is frightened, but she has a fragile courage and the confidence she can run the desmesne until her brother is old enough.
Or, she is spoiled and whiney.
Or she is desperate to find a husband to protect and is assessing this man as he introduces himself.
Or she intends to lure him into a situation in which she can murder him and knows she can dispose of the body where no one will ever find him.
What would each one say to the stranger at the castle gate? What is behind their approach, in other words, how have their main characteristics moved them to say such a thing? What created those characteristics and how does that affect how they approach the problem?
Sometimes, characteristics of the character don't appear to make sense. Recently, I read about a heroine who is very angry, who is being pushed into marriage, who has never wanted to be married and is extremely antagonistic toward the hero, yet she cheerfully leaps into bed with him and proves to be hotter than the hinges of Hell. The next day, she is cold, angry, feels forced into marriage when she wanted to be alone and is antagonistic toward the hero. What in her background, and the woman she is, lead to this set of actions?
We are writing in our style. We created the characters and everything about them, but how do we show their style in a short dialogue? If a heroine is angry because of something her parents did and that is why she reacts as she does, how will you show that anger and its origin?
Does your style mesh with their style? Do you know your characters well enough to have them express, not only how they feel, but where those feelings came from? Devil of a job isn't it?
