Eddie Murphy Quotes

I find that dialogue is bad in most scripts. I just think there are very few writers that can capture the natural way people talk.

And dialogue, I'm good at it, and it's because it's the only thing you have to work with in TV writing.

The hook is a word or an idea spoken by one character which gives the next character something to hook onto when he responds or, like a trapeze artist, gives him something to swing from on his way to another point of view.

With some writers, the script looks beautiful on the page, but nobody actually speaks like that.

I like snappy dialogue and short descriptions and lots of action.

I have always argued, in a good novel, interesting things happen to interesting people.

For me, the dialogue is the easiest part of writing. It just always seems so obvious what a character will say. Maybe it's because I talk too much!

I just try to write the best story I can, a story I would love to read, and hope that readers feel the same.

People have to respond to the characters and respond to the situations that they're in. That said, it still has to be a compelling narrative that drives along and keeps people coming back week after week. So really, with any successful show you could name, there has to be a mysterious blend of both of those.

American scripts are usually non-stop conversation. People talking over each other. I like that.

It's always hard, when introducing readers to a new world/set of rules, not to lay it all out manual-style in the opening chapters but make sure to put the action and the characters at the front. If people don't become invested in them and in the story, the world in which it's set will become a burden.

The game is just one long conversation, and I'm anticipating that, and I will say things like 'Did you know that?' or 'You're probably wondering why.' I'm really just conversing rather than just doing play-by-play. I never thought of myself as having a style. I don't use key words. And the best thing I do? I shut up.

The idea of having different characters is really just to get the storyline across, you know? Coming from one particular character makes, to me, the story boring. I get that mainly from novels and that style of writing or movies where there's multiple characters who carry the storyline.

Write dialogue that supports the situation and the characters, as you find them.

Dialogue is the most fun to write. It's kind of like a tennis match.

I like stories, and I really like words. So I like stories that rely on dialogue.

I like a lot of good dialogue if it is well-acted.

Listen to the way people talk. If your characters sound real the rest is easy.

Dialogue is generally the worst choice for exposition. When you're writing lines you need to focus on the way people actually talk. And when we talk to each other we never actually explain our terms. We don't say 'Sweetheart, would you pass me the sugar bowl, which we picked up for a song at that antique stall in Munich.'

I am simply not interested, at this point, in creating narrative scenes between characters.

I don't particularly enjoy those types of interviews, because I have a great respect for Senator McCain, and I hate the idea that our conversation became just two people sort of talking over each other, at one point.

The important question has nothing to do with whether the talk in your story is sacred or profane; the only question is how it rings on the page and in your ear. If you expect it to ring true, then you must talk yourself. Even more important, you must shut up and listen to others talk.

My main problem is that over and over again, I try to get all my characters to say stuff that I think is so witty or erudite you know, so that everybody will go.

I like when you can have a conversation with people and it's not just stock questions.

Noah Baumbach writing is really wonderful. I think the way he plays out each character with a unique voice is really impressive, and rhythmically his dialogue works.