How to write dialogue

On the 10th Anniversary DVD for Resevoir Dogs, Quentin provides a meandering rapid-fire interview (well, monologue) in which he tries to explain where his style of dialogue comes from.

Have them sound like real people --- like me, and my friends, and just other people --- and make references that other people make, that movie characters don't necessarily make. And talk about shit other than The Plot, alright? Most of us don't talk about The Plot in our lives. We talk all around things, and we talk about bullshit, and we talk about things that interest us.

Gangsters don't just talk about ''gangster plot'' related stuff, and just polish their bullets, and talk about this murder or that murder. They talk about songs on the radio. They talk about the chicken dinner they had last night (or that they're having this moment) and this girl, and they ... well, sometimes in gangster movies they talk about a girl. But that's about it. They don't talk about just stuff.

Quentin Tarantino