You know Madison loves a great back and forth. But there are some traps writers fall into in writing quippy banter. Some are particularly unique to Audio Dramas. So let’s talk talk.
The most important thing to remember during a banter scene is, is the dialogue moving the plot forward? Or has everything stopped while we listen to the characters chat? Every writer loves to write fun dialogue, but it is a very slippery slope into self-indulgence that might entertain you, maybe your actors, and your mom says it’s great, but think about the strangers in your audience. Are they just sitting there waiting to find out where the plot is going while your characters are being clever? Wait! Stop right there! You’re about to reference some movie, TV show, well-known-dialogue writer who does it. So, why can’t you? Take a breath and actually go back to that show/writer you just referenced in your head. If the plot wasn’t somehow sneaking in there and developing, what ELSE was going on in that scene besides the banter?
The Sorkin “Walk-and-Talk”
Yes, quippy banter on the move was made huge by Aaron Sorkin. Doesn’t do us much good in the audio-only medium. So throw that idea away. BUT what you can take from Sorkin is the action he created. So maybe you’re taking a moment away from the plot driven action. Maybe you want your audience to “get to know” the characters or a new character? Folks, that’s the deadly word known as “EXPOSITION.” (Imagine a scary echo on that). And I don’t care how cute or clever you think your dialogue is, you are murdering your scene by stopping everything to fill us in on the details. So find the Sorkin ACTION. Layer the scene. Have the dialogue coming out while your characters are doing an action. Does your character love plants? Can she be watering and talking to her plants while she’s telling her life story to the other character? This is what’s known as “show, don’t tell.” Okay, we can’t fully “show” anything in audio, but you can have her working lovingly with her plants in an action to reveal she’s a plant-lover, and then not have to rely on dialogue where she tells us, “I love plants.”
X MINUS ONE SPOILERS…
Here’s my example. In the first scene of “X Minus One” the original script called for a hellovalot of exposition from Graphius about his belief there are Martians on Earth and how/why he came to that conclusion. So while that information is necessary to get out in the scene, I pepper in Madison having a parallel conversation. She’s just heard there are only 48 states in the U.S. and is deeply puzzled by her own education telling her otherwise. So she is talking to herself out loud trying to solve her own puzzle. Both conversations happen concurrently and break up what otherwise would’ve been a long monologue from Graphius with the other character throwing in a few “Why do you think that?” “How do you know?” Hey, I love old time radio, but I’m not saying these scripts can’t use a little spicing up.
Sadly, I have heard many audio dramas rely heavily on just talking. No one even gets up to grab a coke from the fridge. And having someone asking questions that the other person is answering is NOT banter, or even good dialogue. It’s boring. No matter your subject, no matter your super awesome characters, if all they’re doing is sitting around explaining things, it’s poor writing. So ask yourself, “Has this exchange contributed to the overall plot?”, “What could I show rather than tell?” and lastly, “What can I layer on this scene to get the information out that is engaging to the audience?”
