This step may be combined with others during the sentence-by-sentence editing read as it addresses only these three mechanics of labeling dialogue.
When dialogue is carried on between two people, use the dialogue tag only as often as needed to let the reader know who is speaking.
“You know what I mean?” said Marjorie. She waited for her brother to answer.
“No.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course, you do.”
When the dialogue involves more than two people, add a dialogue tag each time the speaker changes, or use a leading sentence before the dialogue to identify the speaker.
“I don’t understand what you mean,” Marjorie said.
Or,
Marjorie raised her eyebrows and tilted her head. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
Use "said" in your dialogue tags, with perhaps an occasional "asked" or "repeated." Other words that describe speech such as hollered, yelled, whispered, mumbled, yelled, and shrieked might be used once in a great while, but it is best if the dialogue and narrative show the speaker’s behavior and tone, rather than the author telling us. Avoid verbs that introduce actions other than speech. Examples are coughed, spat, choked, and lied.
As in most other editing tasks, the aim is to avoid pulling the reader out the story with unusual phrasing or word choices. Using a dialogue tag to convey information the reader wouldn’t otherwise know (the speaker is lying, for example), or that the reader already knows (the speaker is lying, for example), is distracting.
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Pat (Patricia) Stoltey is the author of four novels published by Five Star/Cengage: two amateur sleuth, one thriller that was a finalist for a Colorado Book Award in 2015, and the historical mystery Wishing Caswell Dead (December 20, 2017).
Pat lives in Northern Colorado with her husband Bill, Scottish Terrier Sassy (aka Doggity), and brown tabby Katie (aka Kitty Cat).
You can learn more about Pat at her website/blog, on Facebook, and Twitter. She was recently interviewed for a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers podcast that you can find at the RMFW website.
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Great tips. I often suggest not to use "repeated" if the sentence is a word-for-word repetition, because the word repeated is then redundant.
ReplyDeleteCheers for that. Really useful.
ReplyDeleteBingo about sticking with "said" or "asked".
ReplyDeleteIt seems to be a sign of weakness on the part of the writer to "thesaurusize" words for "said" such as bellowed, queried, whispered, stated, asserted, boomed, and so on.
These terms also sound forced - in everyday real conversation, most people just say "said."
Cheers, Jill
www.jill.edmondson.blogspot.com
Thanks. This is very helpful because I am in the middle of writing a lengthy dialog. Have a nice day.
ReplyDeleteNice one!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing :)
Good tips!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the tips.
ReplyDeleteGood points here! Not only do you address dialog tags, but you zero in on "show and tell" usage. It's always better to show the reader what's happening rather than tell because the reader relates so much better to the scene.
ReplyDeleteI didn't intend to be anonymous . . .
ReplyDeleteI had an editor once whose bugbear was the use of "said" as a dialogue tag for questions. He insisted it always had to be "asked".
ReplyDeleteSorry to be wandering the country when my posts go up, but I'm in Illinois at the moment. I'll be moving on to Indiana (and Bouchercon) next week. Thanks to everyone who has dropped by The Blood-Red Pencil today.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patricia, I do find I get bored with using "said" from time to time.
ReplyDeleteBargain with the Devil
This is fantastic. I love your blog. Thank you for the contribution you're making to the writing life. Please follow me as I am following you. Peace and all good things for you in creativity. Sincerely,
ReplyDeleteDiane