Writing Tips – by Dan Page
Dan Page is a script-editor, writer and producer of comedy shorts, sketch, and sitcom with credits on NewsRevue, Newsjack and The Sitcom Trials. Here are his tips on the key pointers people often struggle with when starting out writing comedy:
- Let your characters do the talking. Even the simplest of phrases can be used to show the audience who your characters are and their relationship to each other. How might each of them say a simple ‘hello’?
“Hello Ben” – Fred doesn’t know Ben well or is cross with him
“Wassup Benny?” – laidback Luke doesn’t care what Ben thinks
“Hiya Ben!” – excitable Emma likes Ben
- Show emotion. Are your characters angry, happy or sad when they speak? Actors will look for cues as to how to play the emotion in each line – why not help them out?
“Just sod right off Ben”
“Get your gorgeous eyes out of here Ben”
“Maybe you should just go Ben”
- Avoid dialogue that starts or ends with ‘Anyhow’, ‘Look’ or ‘Also. These words suggest to the audience that any preceding lines were unimportant. Try finding a more natural conclusion to that segment or explode what you’re doing by having another character burst in, ask a question, or interrupt.
- Punctuation and pauses are your friend. When writing for radio, think about conveying how a character feels through adding emphasis…or pauses…within their dialogue.
“Yeah Ben… I’m really up for that…’’
“Yeah Ben! I’m really up for that!”
“Yeah Ben? I’m…really up for that?”
- Keep it short and punchy. Try to have your characters addressing one emotion/question/problem at a time unless it’s crucial to the plot/a joke. Watch/listen to some shows, outside of joke laden monologues do characters often say more than one or two sentences at a time?
If you’ve got a script you’d like Daniel to take a look at, then visit www.coiledslinky.strikingly.com for details of how he can help.