Writing dialogue is challenging.

For the final project of my current screenwriting class I have to write a 30-page screenplay for a movie that we might potentially produce later on in our schooling experience.  This in itself is a fairly exciting prospect since it means I may get to actually do some acting as a character in my own screenplay.  I have never actually done any acting but have always had the idea that it would be another fun challenge worth trying out sometime.  It seems like it is a whole different way to learn about the inner ideas of people too.  Or maybe I just don't have any idea what I'm talking about.  Ha.

As a writer of various things from time to time I have run into this challenge before, but I guess it has been a while so I forgot what it was like until now.  Writing dialogue between two people is difficult for me to do, though, and I think it could be a valuable skill to get good at.  Especially if I can make the dialogue natural and believable.

It might seem easy at first glance, as you're just writing down the things you think people would say to each other, but upon further inspection it becomes something much more complicated than that(or perhaps that's just what I tend to do to it unnecessarily.)  Since, when two people talk to each other, they are actually contributing their conversational content based on their personal character and experiences.  This means, everything they say should be unique to that person.  Else, they are simply a clone of social expectation, and are contributing little of relevance to the conversation.  Not to sound harsh or anything.  I'm sure a lot of my own actual ideas probably seem nearly identical to what I just described to some people.  Though, the point is still made through the fact that I am a unique, distinct individual.  So coming up with the entire culture, history, and nuances of an entirely fictitious person can be quite a daunting task.

Luckily, in most cases, lots of so-so dialogue can be rattled out pretty quickly just to get a foundation started.  People generally behave in a somewhat predictable, consistent sort of way.  This isn't a bad thing, either, as it simply shows their adherence to universal principles in whatever form they pervade our lives.  Once the basic elements of the dialogue are laid down the rest can be sculpted to reflect the truly unique character of that person... well... that might be the ideal anyway.  Even my theory on all of this is a work in progress.

This is a great opportunity to try to get to know somebody new.  Too bad that person doesn't really exist but I guess it might help me to get to know my real friends, and other people in general, a little bit better anyway.