Dialogue pass checklist

The pass

One pass, one job. Don't fix structure here — just the talking.

• Cover the character names and read. Can you tell who's who?
• Cut the first line of every speech.
• Delete answers that arrive too quickly — let someone dodge.
• Hand exposition to whoever least wants to say it.
• Trim any speech longer than four lines unless the length is the point.
• Replace an on-the-nose line with an action.
• Read it out loud, at speed, standing up.

Warning signs

• Characters using each other's names mid-conversation.
• Everyone agreeing.
• Dialogue explaining what we just watched.
• Jokes that only the writer is in on.