Lately I keep thinking about dialogue as prewriting. In general, because scripts connect writing to conversation, the initial writing takes a fraction of the time. Students explore ideas quickly.

Take the classic How To. By the time you list the steps and include clarification questions, you’ve got your ideas rather quickly. Scripts write themselves, unlike outlines. Moving from script to essay means clumping ideas together, not expanding from nothing.

Really, outlines do not generate ideas, only group together what has been written.