Writers often put on paper whatever comes into their minds first. Freewriting is a great skill to have, but a consideration of the media you are writing for can help you communicate in it best. Just as novels cannot as accurately describe things like a photograph, there are certain things television does well that should be played to.

photo: crostinii

Although television does include moving images, dialogue is the driving force behind it. This is best proven by the way television is produced and consumed.

Small Screens Are As Good As Big

Televisions screens vary in size from huge to tiny, but the content on it is enjoyed nearly the same on any size TV since the detail included in each frame of any television program is limited. Where a film can be projected on bigger and bigger screens exposing more and more detail, a television will become pixelated showing nothing new of interest. Television programs are as beloved by those with 13 inch screens as those with 50 inch plasma screens. No matter how large a tv is, the great equalizer is the volume control.

Writers Control TV Production, Not Directors

Television is written and made by a group of writers. Although they hire directors to shoot episodes, these directors are limited in what they can do with the show. The showrunner is often also the head writer and he or she is the ultimate boss. In movies where pictures are the focus, directors are in control. In television where dialogue is the focus, writers are in control.

Child of Radio and One Act Plays

When television was first invented they first started with existing material and just taped the performance of it. Television turned out to be a perfect place to simply record the staging of short plays. In addition they were able to adapt radio shows that already had a following and turn them into television shows. One act plays and radio shows are in essence are just dialogue, and they turned out to work really well on TV whereas a talky script might not make a great film.

You Can Listen Only and Still Follow Along

On certain portable radios, along with AM and FM, they have a TV band. With this band you can listen to television broadcasts. Instead of having the distraction of the pictures, one can just hear what is happening and imagine what is going on. If television was not a medium built on dialogue there is no way this feature would have ever been introduced much less actually used by people to this day.

Without a doubt the visual aspect of television is important, but it is key to put the emphasis on dialogue. Not only should the majority of scripts include dialogue, but the conflicts should mostly be between one character and another that is worked out through dialogue. Movies do play well on television and some TV shows seem like small movies, but that does not mean that is the best medium for those types of highly visual stories.