Lesson 3

[Margaret]

Margaret loves Anticipatory Dialogue

Vision: To be the best faith-based screenwriter

What I learned: If you do the “interest techniques” well, your scenes will have anticipatory dialogue.

I went through my script and saw anticipatory dialogue in every scene except for four of them. I made changes to those scenes. In one scene, I only needed one word to make the dialogue anticipatory. I found that I had added much of the anticipatory dialogue when I completed the assignment for “interest techniques.”

[Lenore]

WIM Module 8: Lesson 3

Lenore Bechtel loves Anticiipatory Dialogue

My vision: I want to create enough salable screenplays that an agent will want to market my work and recommend me for writing assignments.

What I learned from doing this assignment is many good ways to include anticipatory dialogue in scenes.

When I went through each of my scenes, looking for those that didn’t have something to make the audience curious about something to come, I found none. I think they all have dialogue meant to cause the audience to need to know more.

I had hoped that I’d be able to improve my script with each lesson, but that didn’t happen with this script. Still, I think the dialogue I’ve written can still be improved.

I’m happy at this point with all my characters except my protagonist—the most important. All the others have something very distinctive about the way they put words together. I would like Libby to use frequent colorful metaphors and hope the right ones will come to me soon.

[Lloyd Shellenberger]

Lloyd loves anticipatory Dialogue.

Working hard every day to become the best writer I can be and as a result I do become the best writer in Hollywood.

What I learned from the assignment is to treat a script like a living breathing document that can always be improved.

• 1. Direct prediction. Several places have this.
• 2. Indirect prediction. I put in at least two or more areas of dialogue like that,
• 3. Countdown. Multiple cases of this are in the script.
• 4. Imply consequences. That was already there.
• 5. Imply hopelessness. That is also in there.
• 6. Shield from consequences in advance.
• 7. Warnings. Multiple dialogue was added.
• 8. Create reputation for the villain. The Protagonist and Antagonist reputations put in.
• 9. Confront someone hiding from a future consequence. The State department and Reese have these types of discussions.
• 10. A challenge issued. Reese is challenged throughout this by his Commander.

[Brian Bull]

BRIAN BULL loves Anticipatory Dialogue

VISION!!!
My ultimate goal is to get my scripts from my hands to the SILVER SCREEN!!

“What I learned from doing this assignment is…
Anticipatory Dialogue is fun to do and is a great way to move your story along.

The ONE THAT GOT AWAY – A Fisherman’s Tale
A fisherman is determined to catch the fish he blames for his younger brother’s death, however, in the end, it turns out the fisherman is the one who had gotten away.

Assignment

I was surprised at the number of times I had used Anticipatory Dialogue in my script. I will continue to look for more ways of incorporating into my dialogue.