Compelling Entertainment: Diction (part one)

Continuing from the last two weeks, I spoke on the elements that make certain works compelling: Plot, Character, Diction, Music, Theme, and Spectacle. So far I addressed the questions I ask concerning Plot and Character. To many… To most… These seem to be the most important elements of a story. Yet, there’s more. Yes, the backbone of compelling entertainment is Plot and Character, and if a book or movie has a good plot and great characters, I can forgive other faults… But, the way a story is told is important too. How does one draw the picture that paints both amazing plots and interesting characters? Diction.

What is Diction? Quite simply, it is the language artists use to express themselves. There are gobs of ways to tell the same story. Not just through books and movies. Ultimately, all art strives to tell some sort of story. To give insights into some sort of personalities. Yet, even within books or movies, there are so many different languages of storytelling. Movies come in all forms, genres, and such: Action, shorts, horror, thrillers. When you break down even the genres, there are several different considerations, lighting, transitions, etc. Having all the same genres, books speak in various formats: short stories, narrative, journal, documentary. All carry their own language. 


At its base, whichever language a writer chooses to use, he or she generally bases the structure on a set of rules: grammar. Strictly following rules would leave you to believe that creating a compelling story is easy. Know the rules, know quality, right? Well, how often have you heard from your high school English teacher not to do such and such, then you go and read a critical masterpiece which breaks the very rules we’re all supposed to keep?

Or concerning movie choices, how does an actor choose to emote? Characters may be written perfectly, but if an actor does a poor job of expressing the character it can take an audience out of a movie. So, even acting folks have their own rules as to how an actor should handle various situations. But, so often following rules kills authenticity. Cloris Leachman once said something about acting that stuck with me. She said a lot of actors will ‘know’ the ‘right’ step, or the ‘right’ reaction to take for each circumstance. And, because if this knowledge they’ll think they are good, but in actuality they are cliché.

This brings me to the more important element of diction: Voice. Proper grammar is not the most important element of good diction (not to say it is unimportant). Yes, one needs to follow an agreed upon set of rules in order to be understood. And, the rules are objective, so one can feel superior if he or she can catch a ‘poor’ writer or actor breaking a rule. But, good diction lies in Voice. And, Voice is a subjective minefield. Voice attempts to describe that which seems beyond what words are capable. Personalities. Emotions. Colors. Voice is the fuel of the writer’s and actor’s rule: ‘show, don’t tell.’ Diction’s overall purpose is to reflect a character’s or event’s every shade of meaning, not just the denotations, but the connotations. With bad grammar, audiences can often figure out what a creator meant. With bad voice, they won’t feel what an artist is feeling. 

Above all, Diction should not draw attention to itself. That is the trap so many writers, actors, directors etc. fall into. In trying so hard to get noticed, they either overwrite or overact. Or they film odd artsy fartsy camera angles. In turn, their work comes of as pretentious, unauthentic, ridiculous or all of the above. So how does an artist get the attention for their work, without seeming as if they are trying to get attention? Isn’t that why they create? This is why I think Diction is so often one of the hardest elements to get right when creating any art, especially in books and movies. Does this mean we can’t marvel at brilliant diction? No. But Diction carries the height of brilliance when it most perfectly embodies the object of its message. 

Next post I’ll share the questions I ask concerning the quality of a work’s diction.