12/6/2023 0 Comments I always use dialogue tags beforeGround those readers in time and place by giving your characters actions as they speak. The action attribution will serve at least two purposes-to identify the speaker and to add action to the scene so you don’t present talking heads to your readers. Use one to break up long stretches of dialogue. Readers will be able to keep up if you write the scene well.Īlso, here’s the occasion for the action attribution. Your characters will have different speech patterns, use different words, and will lean toward a certain side of a subject/conflict. Once you’ve identified one speaker, the reader should be able to go several lines of dialogue without needing another identifier. The key is to use the tag only when necessary. It’s the unintentional overuse that you’ll want to avoid. Said is certainly not invisible then.Ī writer, however, may deliberately use said again and again to create a certain effect or rhythm. I’ve read sections of dialogue where said is used in every line. While that is true if said is used correctly, it’s not true if the word is overused. Many will tell you that said is almost invisible, that the reader will note it only to identify the speaker and then move on. Show a character raging or crying or acting sassy. Remember the advice to show and not tell? This is telling at its worst. “I will not do it your way, not ever,” she sassed saucily. “Santa is here, Santa is here,” the little girl cried joyfully.“I hate that dress on you,” he raged violently.Doing so is a poor way to add zip to a scene. My counter argument is that the restriction is not boring if it keeps an editor or agent from tossing aside your manuscript.Įven worse than writing fancy dialogue tags is writing them and then pairing them with adverbs. I’ve seen arguments from writers saying that restricting tags to said and asked is boring. What’s important is the dialogue-that’s where the focus should go. The purpose of dialogue tags is to identify the speaker it’s not to draw attention to the writer’s broad vocabulary. We can spit and snarl, but those are actions the character performs, not what the words do. We don’t counter words, though we may counter with an argument. We can smile while speaking (could be difficult), but we don’t smile words. While it’s true that characters can smile, counter (speak in opposition to), spit, and snarl, it’s not true that they can do those things with words. However, I’ve seen other words used for dialogue tags that can’t possibly work. There is reason to argue that people can whisper and murmur words and so they can be used. While other verbs might indicate other actions, not too many are substitutes for speaking verbs.įor example, murmured and whispered are often used as dialogue tags. There is seldom a reason to use anything else.ĭialogue tags are used to indicate speech. Said and asked are the most obvious and most used tags. Tags can, and should, almost always be simple and basic. Or, the way they are used might be part of a writer’s style, but for the most part, they’re markers for the reader, so we can identify speakers in fiction. Tags might be used for rhythm or balance in a sentence. “It’s so soft.”-this article is specifically about the use and misuse of dialogue tags.ĭialogue tags don’t have many uses other than keeping characters straight for the reader. While action can also be used for attribution- Mark reached to tug Melba’s curl. Decemby Fiction Editor Beth Hill last modified May 15, 2013ĭialogue tags in fiction- she said, he asked-are simply attributions they let the reader know who is speaking.
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