Let’s play a game! And yes, there will be a prize at the end!
I'm going to list some dialogue from a few of my favorite movies and let's see how many you're able to guess. Just raise your hand when you recognize the movie. Ready? Let's go! (And no googling or cheating!)
Movie #1
“Look, I guarantee there'll be tough times. I guarantee that at some time, one or both of us is gonna want to get out of this thing. But I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine, I'll regret it for the rest of my life…”
Got it? Okay, here's another one...
Movie #2
“Aye, fight and you may die, run, and you'll live... at least for a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take...our freedom!”
Okay, that was easy, right? Here's another...
Movie #3
"You must know... surely, you must know it was all for you. You are too generous to trifle with me. I believe you spoke with my aunt last night, and it has taught me to hope as I'd scarcely allowed myself before…”
Okay, stop your swoonin', gals, and raise and your hand. I know you know that one!
Movie #4
First woman: "I do not attempt to deny that I think very highly of him--that I greatly esteem him... I like him."
Second woman: "Esteem him? Like him? Use those insipid words again and I shall leave the room this instant."
Got it? If yes, then you'll immediately recognize this line of dialogue from the same movie...
"My heart is, and always will be, yours."
I LOVE that scene, and I've watched this movie no telling how many times. Okay, three more, then I'll give you the answers (if you don't already know them).
Movie #5
"I find it amusing. Men are supposed to be made out of steel or something. I just sat there. I just held Shelby's hand. There was no noise, no tremble, just peace. Oh God... I realize as a woman how lucky I am. I was there when that wonderful creature drifted into my life and I was there when she drifted out. It was the most precious moment of my life."
Can't you just see that scene again? Aren't you right back in that moment? I am. All because of words.
Movie #6
First Character: I wish [it] had never come to me...I wish none of this had happened.
Second Character: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
Okay, that was [almost] a “gimme.”
And lastly...
Movie #7
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind..."
How many movies did you recognize?
The movies are (in order): Runaway Bride, Braveheart, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Steel Magnolias, Lord of the Rings, and Beauty and the Beast
Words have such power, and words stay with us, as evidenced above. (And if you’re wondering why I chose movies to quote instead of novels, it’s because it’s more likely that our movie viewing will overlap, since we’re such a diverse group, rather than our novel reading.)
In Bird by Bird (fabulous book for writers), Anne Lamott shares, “One line of dialogue that rings true reveals character in a way that pages of description can’t.” That’s so true! I love reading a book where I can hear the characters speaking. When I can hear their individual voices. Authentic dialogue makes for authentic characters that jump off the page and make us want to keep reading.
The same is true for us in “real life.” Our conversation and dialogue with each other reveal who we are. The words we choose say so much about us. At times, perhaps far more than we’d like for them to!
I’ve just spent the last few hours––yes, hours––reading through a few pages of dialogue in my next book that’s due to the publisher today (can you hear me choking?). As I read the dialogue aloud, I checked for pacing and tone. Did the dialogue adequately reflect the emotions of the character? Was the dialogue “true” or was it “subtexting” (where the characters are talking about one thing on the surface, when really they’re talking about something else entirely different). Had I chosen the best words to communicate what the characters were trying to say?
And then it struck me…how much better––more uplifting, more God-honoring, and encouraging––would my dialogue in real life be if I spent more time thinking about what I was going to say before I said it. You may not have that little problem, but I often do. And I identify with David in Psalm 141:3, when he prayed, “Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
Words are powerful and lasting, as proven by the snippets of dialogue from the movies above. Which reminds me…I promised a prize!
I’m giving away a copy of my latest book,
Beyond This Moment, coupled with a DVD of Sense and Sensibility, one of my all-time favorite movies. If you’d like to be included in the drawing, simply indicate that when you leave a comment.
Continued blessings, and may your words (and mine) be full of life!
Tammy