34. Writing Great Dialogue: It All Depends on High and Low Context Character Relationships

EPISODE DESCRIPTION:     This episode presents the final point in a series of ten essential principles of good dialogue.  #10: Good Dialogue reflects an appropriate level of familiarity between characters. This principle rests on the concept of high context versus low context communication. LOW CONTEXT DIALOGUE exists whenever people have a LACK of shared history, knowledge, or  familiarity with each other. Examples: A first date, a doctor's appointment, a tour guide, etc. HIGH CONTEXT DIALOGUE exists whenever people have a GREAT DEAL of shared history, knowledge, expertise or familiarity with each other. Examples: Husband's and wives; best friends; experts in a shared field, such as doctors, lawyers, or cops, etc. The writer's job is to make sure that characters in a scene speak to each other in a way that accurately reflects the status of their relationship, but this rule is often violated because writers are trying to communicate exposition to their readers through these exchanges.  UP NEXTWriters need to be careful not to let their low context relationship with the audience lead them to write low context dialogue for characters who are in a high context relationship. For tools on how to effectively communicate exposition to the audience WITHOUT violating this essential principle, join us next week as we launch into part 2 of this series on dialogue, where we will explore ten great tools to help you write great dialogue. Also, check out our new website here: https://www.thestorytellersmission.com QUESTIONS OR TOPIC REQUESTS? If you have a question about this or any other episode, or if you have a specific topic that you would like Zena to address, click on the link below to leave a voicemail recording with your problem, question, or issue.https://www.speakpipe.com/ZenaDellLoweSPECIAL THANKSThe Mission with Zena Dell Lowe would like to thank composer Carla Patullo for the original music she graciously permits us to use in the intro and outro of this podcast. To find out more about this amazing talent, go to  www.carlapatullo.com  Tags: Artist, Artists, Writing tips, Writing Advice, Writing Podcast, Crafting a Story, Writers, Writer, Author, Novelist, Screenwriter, Story, Storytelling, Storytellers, Zena Dell Lowe, Mission Ranch Films, The Storyteller's Mission, The Mission with Zena Dell LoweSend us Fan MailSupport the show