The Expanded Ultimate Story Checklist: Is the dialogue more concise than real talk?

Dialogue should be as realistic as possible, with two big exceptions: It should be more succinct and have more personality. The danger, of course, is that you’ll accomplish this by giving every character the gift of sparkling, sophisticated banter, but that’s not what I mean at all. 

Instead, consider this exchange from the first X-Men movie, after Wolverine returns from fighting a shape-shifting villain:

• Wolverine: Easy, it’s me. 
• Cyclops: Prove it. 
• Wolverine: [thinks, then] You’re a dick. 
• Cyclops: [thinks, then] Okay. 

That is one of the few memorable moments in the movie, but the offhand delivery of these three little words is enough to make Hugh Jackman a star and launch a franchise—and it’s the opposite of sophisticated banter. Never write a page of banter when three words will do.

This also works for deeper dialogue in novels. Nobody was more famous for economy than Ernest Hemingway, and this abrupt exchange from The Sun Also Rises proves it:

• “Oh Jake,” Brett said, “we could have had such a damned good time together.” 
• “Yes,” I said. “Isn’t it pretty to think so?”

The 40 Year Old Virgin	YES.
Alien	YES, it’s very slight and muttered.
An Education	YES. “I suppose you think I’m a fallen woman.” “Oh, you’re not a woman.”
The Babadook	YES. Yes.
Blazing Saddles	YES.
Blue Velvet	YES. All of Jeffrey’s plans are concisely laid out.
The Bourne Identity	YES. “How could I forget you?  You’re the only person I know.”
Bridesmaids	YES.
Casablanca	YES. very much so. “He’s like any other man, only more so.”
Chinatown	YES.
Donnie Brasco	YES.
Do the Right Thing	YES.
The Farewell	YES.
The Fighter	YES.
Frozen	YES.
The Fugitive	YES. Very much so.
Get Out	YES.
Groundhog Day	YES. “Did you sleep well?” “I slept long.”
How to Train Your Dragon	YES.
In a Lonely Place	YES.
Iron Man	YES. Exchange with reporter outside his car packs a huge amount of character work and big theme ideas into quick sexy banter.
Lady Bird	YES.
Raising Arizona	YES.
Rushmore	YES.
Selma	YES. As I said, a 45 minute meeting is boiled down to 4 minutes.  Being denied King’s speeches gave the filmmakers more freedom to whittle them down to 2 minutes each.
The Shining	YES.
Sideways	YES.
The Silence of the Lambs	YES. Everything is very clipped.
Star Wars	YES.
Sunset Boulevard	YES.