Writing a monologue

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  • Writing a monologue

    What are everyone's thoughts here, how do you write a good one?

    Even though there is no dramatic back-and-forth, I still like the idea of having a beat sheet,
    something where I can follow the progression of the speech.

    Since we're talking film and we should use the tools we've got,
    I also like the idea of supplementing the speech with visuals.

    Find creative ways to break up the block,
    both on the page and on the screen.

    ---

    Now with all of that **** out of the way,
    how would you go about writing the words?

    How do you compose this type of symphony?

  • #2
    Re: Writing a monologue

    The only time I've ever written a good monologue, I had a ton of conflict coming at the character from every direction. I think that's the only way to make one work. You need lots of conflict. Build the conflict up enough, and it might just write itself.

    If you've got enough conflict, the audience and readers will hang on to every word. You won't even have to break it up with visuals.
    QUESTICLES -- It's about balls on a mission.

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    • #3
      Re: Writing a monologue

      Am I missing something in your question here? It sounds like you're saying, "I want to shove a big ass monologue into my script somewhere but I don't know what to write."

      Warning: major run-on sentence to follow.

      It would seem to me that a monologue should spring organically from your story and whatever character will speak it, and that you would know both so well that you would know exactly what you need or want to say at the right point in the story, and then you would concentrate on making it sound as great and interesting as you possibly can, like you should do with all of your writing anyway.

      How long of a monologue are we talking here? Just a big block of speech, an actual speech, or one guy yammering for two pages? The longer it is, the better it must be. What is the genre?
      "The Hollywood film business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Hunter S Thompson

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      • #4
        Re: Writing a monologue

        Thanks Knaight.

        Cshel, no I'm not trying to just shove one in,
        I know the purpose of the monologue and what I want to get across.
        Hence the beat-sheet.

        Just looking for discussion about other things to focus on,
        pay attention too, a good discussion about ideas.

        Basically the same thing as every other topic that gets posted here.

        ---

        Anyway, it's an Act I speech that simultaneously establishes one of the main characters and also the dramatic situation/setting.
        The first 10 establish my main character, and the next 10 or however long the section is, I want to establish her father and the setting.

        Rather than go back and put in some gratuitous scenes that establish my setting, or throw in out of place one-liners in previous conversations,
        I've decided it would be best to build the sequence to this speech, and then use the speaker to establish the context of the story.
        (and at the same time establish his character)

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        • #5
          Re: Writing a monologue

          go here: http://www.filmsite.org/bestspeeches26.html

          some of the most memorable monologues that i remember are characters just telling stories. they don't fit in the a-story of the movie but they fit with the theme. but the storytelling must be intriguing enough to keep the audience listening.

          one of my favorites was richard farnsworth, character alvin straight in the straight story telling about an incident in WWII when a he shot a fellow soldier by accident... and another was jack nicholson's character in about schmidt (this done in voice over) writing his penpal letters to some african kid... but my ultimate favorite has got to be when jodi foster in silence of the lambs tells about why she ran away from her uncle's farm with a baby lamb, trying to save it. i actually thought i saw the visuals (a girl running across a field struggling with a baby lamb in her arms).

          you should look for these 3 scripts.

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          • #6
            Re: Writing a monologue

            Jerry Macguire had some good monologues.
            Chicks Who Script podcast

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            • #7
              Re: Writing a monologue

              Ven -

              Check out this link -

              http://www.film.com/features/story/t...ogues/27983372
              "The Hollywood film business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." Hunter S Thompson

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              • #8
                Re: Writing a monologue

                Jaws. Robert Shaw's regaling the story of the USS Indianapolis. Heard in an interview that the scene saved his spot during filming. They were going to let him go until that time...
                " Don't really like writing. But I do like having written." Vince Gilligan, Breaking Bad.

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                • #9
                  Re: Writing a monologue

                  I always remember what I learned from my acting school. There's no such thing as a "monologue." It's a speech. You're always talking to someone.

                  It doesn't necessarily help in your question about structuring a speech, but it can help you break up a speech on the page by occasionally referencing the other character's reactions.

                  Even if the other character never says anything, it's still an exchange between two (or more) people.

                  Just a thought.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Writing a monologue

                    I've got a one character short film where the character talks to us and reveals the story that way. It's a lot different than someone speaking long chunks of dialogue to someone else though, as my character addresses the audience. If you'd like to read it, let me know.

                    I suggest checking out the scripts for most of Brad Pitt's films. He loves them and does them well.

                    Assassination of Jesse James a prime example. And Seven (more so John Doe).

                    Have fun.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Writing a monologue

                      Yeah, thanks everyone.

                      I've kind of figured that out too, that you can get away with a lot as long as you keep telling a story.

                      One_Seven, sure I'd like to read it. I appreciate it, thanks.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Writing a monologue

                        Not sure if this will help anyone in the future,
                        but I taught myself how to write a speech tonight.

                        Seems obvious in hindsight, but doesn't everything?

                        I think the key is to not only tell a story -- but introduce and maintain antagonism.

                        Antagonism is central to any story, and a monologue is just a mini-story.

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                        • #13
                          Re: Writing a monologue

                          Propably the longest monologue I know of is delivered by Kevin Kostner at the end of JFK. I recall it runs for over 10 pages. It's, of course, very dramatic and crucial to the story. And the audience has a lot of stake in what he has to say.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Writing a monologue

                            Originally posted by Condog View Post
                            I always remember what I learned from my acting school. There's no such thing as a "monologue." It's a speech. You're always talking to someone.

                            It doesn't necessarily help in your question about structuring a speech, but it can help you break up a speech on the page by occasionally referencing the other character's reactions.

                            Even if the other character never says anything, it's still an exchange between two (or more) people.

                            Just a thought.
                            Right. This reminds me of a speech class I took in college.

                            In my first speech I explained how a light meter and camera settings worked. Rather than a speech, it was an infromation dump accompanied by an enlarged picture of a light meter and camera lens. Boring.

                            My next speech was a hit. The subject had to do with racial integration. I blended facts and figures with passion and conflict. The audience was alive.

                            I think we have to visualize how our long block of dialogue, the monologue, will be presented by an actor. Will it excite the actor? Does it contain enough passion and conflict for the actor to work with.

                            I think the monologue should also contain the stuff that will cause other characters and the audience to react emotionaly, even physically.

                            The content may be more important that the structure of the monologue.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Writing a monologue

                              Well obviously we want to engage the audience, the question is how?

                              What I'm getting at is that antagonism is the key.

                              IMO, the great monologues -- the speaker is fighting a battle inside their head.
                              They aren't trying to tell you something, they aren't trying to get you excited ...

                              They are fighting a battle in their mind, and words just happen to be coming out of their mouth.

                              Watch that monologue in Jaws.
                              I think you can tell that Quint is reliving the entire experience.
                              Not just telling it, but actually reliving every bit of emotion and detail in his mind, like he's there again.

                              And he tells a story, but -- there's always antagonism.
                              The Japanese ... the atomic bomb ... the sharks ... the dead men ... eaten alive ...

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