If you ask a comedy writer what their specialty is, a lot of the time that writer is going to say 'character driven comedy.'

And that's fine.

A lot of comedy is character driven.

But what would you do if someone said, "What do you mean by that?"

Maybe you have the answer right now. If so, that's great. You should stop reading.

But if you 're not quite sure what exactly 'character driven' means, or how it applies to your writing, keep reading.

We’ve all been there.

At some party. Maybe in LA. Maybe in Idaho.

Mingling with people. Making small talk. Then the subject comes up, “What do you do?”

If you’re in LA, usually you’ll hear, “I’m an actor.” Or “I’m a director.” Or “I work in post.”

If you're a good writer looking to improve your dialogue writing, there's a very real chance your falling into what we call "The Circular Dialogue Trap."

It's a problem we've faced ourselves, and we see it in at least half of our client's scripts. 


Have no fear, though. In today's article, we're going to point out exactly what the Circular Dialogue Trap is, and we're going to teach you how to avoid it. 

Keep your dialogue out of the toilet. Keep reading to find out how.

If you spend much time with screenwriters, you’ve probably heard a bunch of absolute no-no’s when it comes to screenwriting.

You can’t do this. You can’t do that. Oh, if you do that, whoever is reading your script will use it for toilet paper.

If you're looking to write a sitcom pilot that has the potential to become a real TV series, there is one fundamental element you need to focus on above all the others. 

And it's not characters, or dialogue, or funny jokes (although those things are obviously important).

This fundamental element is so basic you're going to feel silly for not prioritizing it earlier.

Dialogue is one of the hardest parts of screenwriting.

It’s hard to master, sure.

But there’s an even bigger problem…

Most writers don’t even know it when their dialogue sucks.

It sounds harsh, but it’s true. 

The first step to improving your dialogue writing recognizing that you’ve got a problem.