Subtext: What Characters Really Mean - The Conversation Beneath the Conversation
“We should talk.” Three words. Grammatically simple. Literally: a suggestion to have a conversation. But everyone who hears them knows: Something bad is about to happen. A breakup. A confrontation. A revelation that will hurt. How do we know? Because of subtext—the meaning beneath the words, the real message hiding under the literal one. And it’s arguably the most important skill in dialogue writing. What Is Subtext? Text: What is literally said Subtext: What is actually meant ...