Alright, gimme some of that creative juju! How about "Enter late, leave early"? Scenes that showcase that important "rule" of screenwriting/scene writing. Basically, dialogue that is really efficient and doesn't waste time getting to the point of the scene and also propels you into the following scene. Maybe we could even split up the enters and leaves and do one week of each. Other suggestions: Talking to cops/authorities, pickup attempts, muggings/robberies, planning a heist, roommates. A few themes that we did already could be fun to revisit, like: subtext, non-verbal communication, side characters.

How about 'culture clash' dialogue? Someone who's abroad or in a foreign environment, and running up against misunderstandings, social customs or rules they're not used to? Should be a good source of conflict. Of course, I now can't think of any examples! :)

How about "Death Scenes". Characters who are know they are about to die. What they say, maybe their conversations with the person about to kill them (if applicable) or with their loved ones (if applicable). Could be interesting to see their summation of their lives, or asking for forgiveness, begging for life, or resignation to fate. "How we face death is at least as important as how we face life." or something like that.

Have you already covered "Rally the Troops" speeches? (I have a terrible feeling I suggest this every time and it's already been done. My excuse: they fascinate me!) Great action hero wisecracks Great exit lines / buttons on scenes Great *first* lines in a movie -- I'd love to see examples that really stand out.

fan boy/girl conversations about bands/records/live music/movies...

I'm pretty sure I haven't read all the Daily Dialogues so far, so I might be repeating some that have already been done, but I'll give it a shot anyway. Apathy to Advances: One character romantically pursues another while that other character appears apathetic to their advances. The Boss Triumphant: A character is thwarted by their own boss or any other kind of "upper management" in their life even if that same character started the scene believing to be in power for once. Unmasking: Scenes in which an antagonist is unmasked to the audience when the audience, and the characters involved in the story for that matter, were unaware that this character was the antagonist. It's My Life: When characters are given the task to defend some part of themselves or their way of life. Overheard: Conversations that are overhead by characters that aren't supposed to be involved in the conversation. Making A Scene: A character attempts to or leads to something that makes themselves the center of attention when in a public scene.

Imposters populate nearly half of all the feature films released in the USA. So how about - unless it has already been done- "I'm not who you thing I am" . Or "I'm not who I said I was" i.e. The Imposter Unmasks Himself. Two examples. Woody Alan's character, Howard Prince, late in The Front , tells Florence, (Andrea Marcovicci) essentially I'm not who I said I was. I'm a front. Humphrey Bogart does this with typical Bogey style in a not really well-remembered but pretty good anyway movie, The Left Hand of God. Bogart's character, Jim Carmody, has been passing himself off as a Catholic priest, the long-awaited Fr. O'Shea. In this I'm not who I said I was speech, he reveals himself to a modern day Chinese warlord, Mieh Yang. This is different from Superhero Unmasks, not the alter ego revealing scene. This is a real imposter who gives it up. That's my suggestion.

As I mentioned on a previous daily dialogue entry, perhaps something like "insults without using profanity" might be good to see examples of imaginative writing, that don't resort to swearing for impact. What effect can carefully thought out, imaginative put downs have on a character's emotions or arc? Does a particular insult tie in with particular turning point in a screenplay? Might need to set some rules for what constitutes profanity.....and like Debbie above, I am now going to have to go away and think of one :-) but it could be interesting.....

Folklore. When a character tells of a famous or otherwise unknown tale, myth or legend. An example in Kill Bill when Bill and the Bride are camping out by a fire. He tells of the once heard legend of the kung fu master Pai Mei and his five point palm exploding heart technique.

How about when one character sings a song/writes (or reads) a poem for another? Some examples: --The Sessions: John Hawkes writes a poem for Helen Hunt --June: Michael Cera sings to Ellen Page --Moneyball: The daughter writes a song for Brad Pitt --Dan in Real Life: Steve Carell sings for Juliette Binoche Often the characters are hesitant to share their song/poem with someone else because it reveals a little too much of themselves.

How about explanations for bad behavior? This is a trope in most romantic comedies. Some examples: --Wedding Crashers: Owen Wilson making his case to Rachel McAdams during her wedding to Bradley Cooper --Groundhog Day: When Andie MacDowell accuses Bill Murray of being some kind of serial stalker, he tries to explain himself

Scott, Suggestion: Once a topic is chosen, could the call for examples be made during the week? I think you normally post the request on Saturday. Bumping it back to say Thursday might elicit more examples. Thanks for listening, Greg

I've been thinking about DINNER scenes. Not really a 'topic', but good dinner scenes are tricky.

This has probably been covered before, but here's my suggestion: Witty banter (which is my favorite type of dialogue to listen to and to write) I love all of the examples above, just reading them gives me ideas and inspiration for my own writing. Kudos to all! I give a special shout-out to "Folklore," as that one's pretty darn cool...

Greg, so say instead of posting the Daily Dialogue theme for next week post on a Sunday night, post it the preceding Thursday? Give people more time to come up with ideas? I can do that. Good idea. Thanks!

Good suggestions, folks. I'll pick a list from your ideas and post a new schedule on Sunday. Thanks!

First thought that pops up: The 'All Is lost'-Moment Would love to see some of those...

i like the witty banter and dinner dialogue ideas because i def need those! (if they've already been done, please let me know where in the archives i can find that!) the one theme i'm interested in is moments of sheer desperation: begging for life or forgiveness or for a chance (or second chance)... begging for someone to understand or to believe them, etc. dirty, raw, emotional begging for something whether there's humor involved or utter drama/thriller/whatever, a sense of desperation so great you can't control what comes out of your mouth... or maybe the woman who plays it coy and calculated... whatever. ON YOUR KNEES!

Teddy, a lot there. How about if we riff off talking to cops/authorities and do arrests? That could be fertile territory, both for scripts where we're writing cops and for ones where we're writing people getting busted. Also I don't think we've covered that theme yet. Thanks!

Debbie, I think we could do culture clash. It's an exercise in FOOW [Fish Out Of Water] writing. Thanks!

SandbaggerOne: We've done dying words, but certainly worth revisiting. Maybe broaden to the subject of death, not just dying scenes, but also reflections on mortality. Thanks!

We've done rallying speeches, first lines of movies, last lines of movies. But not action hero wisecracks. We should do that just because it would be fun. Thanks!

Pliny, that could work. Thanks!

Trent, those are some good ones. How about for this time around we do Making A Scene? Save those others for the next batch, ok? Thanks!

Mark Twain, that's a good one because we should strive to come up with multiple ways of characters revealing their true 'self,' so it's not just [A] hesitation, [B] stammering, [C] blurting it out. I can't think of a better way of articulating the theme, so I'm not who you think I am will do. Thanks!

Mark, I like that: Profanity free insults. So easy drop some F-bombs and Mofos into dialogue, but that can be the easy way out. Let's run with that. Thanks!

Ah, good one, alexmatu. First one that came to mind for me was the legend of Keyser Soze as recounted by Verbal. The challenge there is to convey the essence of a story in a compressed time and making it entertaining. Should be a good one. Thanks!

The only thing about songs is if it's a well-known song, then we're just talking about lyrics. Same thing with poetry. So really it would have to be someone singing or reading an ORIGINAL composition. We could probably make that work, yes? Let's give it a shot. Thanks!

Why not go with dinner scenes? Covers all genres and you're right, can be tricky to make entertaining, a bunch of talking heads. Thanks!

Witty banter. That's a keeper. Thanks!

Sure, that's a good one, too. All Is Lost! Thanks!

Interesting, Despina. How about begging for one's life? Thanks!

And now as promised, a big honking blast of creative juju for everyone who made suggestions. Ready? WRRRIIITTTEEEYYYOOUURRRBBBUUUUTTTTOOOOFFF!! Armed with that, I fully expect words to flow from your fingertips like... Why should I supply the simile? I just gave YOU the creative juju! Again thanks to everyone! Great list. Should be a fun next several months of Daily Dialogue.

In honor of ZERO DARK THIRTY, "Interrogations." And the category could be broadened beyond interrogations by authority figures - civilians do it too, witness Jake La Motta's grilling of his brother ("Did you fuck my wife?") in RAGING BULL.

Fuck that. (resumes sulking over "Profanity" suggestion not being used) ; )

Sex scenes? May not contain much dialogue, but may still be enlightening!

Got it in under the wire. Thanks!

Okay, JLC. We can wallow in profanity for a week. Okay to move from sulking to celebratory mode!

If we're doing profanity, might as well do sex scenes, too. Thanks!

WOO-HOO FUCKIN' A! Thanks, Scott!