How to Write a Compelling Dramatic Monologue
If you’re writing a movie script, a TV show script or a script for a play, you may have seriously considered a script writing service to save time and energy. This may especially be the case if you are new and inexperienced with script writing and need the guidance of seasoned script writing experts to get you started.
Unfortunately, script writing services can vary greatly in their quality. Some online services out there will seem suspiciously affordable, and for good reason: they’re low quality. Such companies are little more than unqualified people looking to make a quick buck. They advertise script writing services and peddle inferior, highly formulaic script services that are far worse than any beginner could put together themselves.
If you care about making an impact with your script, whatever it’s for, you’ll need script writing services that you can trust to deliver on their promises. After you’ve done your research on the script writing service’s qualifications and policies, it’s possible to leave the rest up to them and feel confident that you’ll end up with work that is up to scratch.
But why stop there? As you develop your own script writing skills, it pays to cultivate an inventory of writing techniques that can help you craft scripts that are believable, high quality and correctly formatted. One of these skills is knowing how to craft monologues. The following tips can guide you as you create a dramatic monologue, with or without the help of script writing services.
Be sure to include tension in your character
Good script writing service will naturally offer this as part of their package, however this doesn’t mean you can’t take a stab at writing dramatic monologues yourself. A good way to begin is to imagine the fundamental tensions that are driving your character forward. A character that merely speaks and speaks with no tension will soon bore audiences and have them wondering why they are listening at all.
When working with your script writing service, collaborate carefully with them to explain the natural tensions and ambiguities in your character. Perhaps they clearly want something, but something else is standing in their way. Perhaps they feel two conflicting emotions and they are expressing this difficulty through the monologue.
Show the character responding to their environment
Your script writing service will likely point this out to you if they find it lacking in any first drafts. A character may not be talking directly with other people, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t respond to the environment around him. Have your character change and adjust what he says depending on the reactions he receives from those listening to him. Show how he intensifies his message or abandons certain threads in order to get his idea across. This makes him seem far more human – and interesting for the listener.
Have a clean, obvious ending to the monologue
Amateur script writers often have no idea how to link dramatic elements or pieces of conversation together. Expert writers who work for script writing service companies usually know a few tricks for signaling to the audience when a monologue is over, though. One of these tricks is to have the character say something that obviously resolves some of the tension mentioned earlier. The character can also subtly announce that he is done talking, or else some stage directions can make him leave or change positions in the frame/stage. Chat to your screen writing service about these transitions if you’re unsure.
Don’t let the monologue be for nothing
Your character’s monologue should move the plot forward and change the course of events for the story completely. A monologue that is delivered and seems to make no difference will seem like a boring waste of time for the audience. Instead, make the stakes high. Make it unclear whether the character will be successful in their speech, and make the outcome a serious one.
Experienced script writing services will grasp the importance of doing this and their writers will know exactly how to weave in a monologue so that it carries the plot forward at a pace that fits the rest of the story. Learn how to do this yourself by asking carefully what happens because of what the character says. Is the situation worse? Better? Does the audience learn any new information?
When script writing services piece together a quality, coherent script for you, they are taking years of experience and knowledge about what works in the industry and applying it your story. However, anyone can try to apply some of these principles themselves, especially if they are attempting to improve their writing skills for future projects.
By simply taking matters into their own hands, aspiring script writers can learn a few of the tricks used by prominent script writing service providers and go part of the way to creating something special. While it’s true that anyone can hire the help of a script writing service and end up with a polished, made to order script that fits their criteria, it doesn’t hurt to understand exactly what goes into the creation of that script and how you can develop those skills for yourself.
Depending on the script writing services you employ, the seasoned experts there will be happy to work with you on your project and will be more than accommodating when it comes to working out your characters’ motivations. By looking closely at the tensions in your character, at how they respond to their environment, how the story changes because of the monologue and how to end it, you can work together with your script writing service to build a script that is compelling, genuine and bound to capture the attention of your audience.
