Tag: Dialogue

Is “Said” Dead? Laying to Rest Some Myths About Dialogue Tags

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Is “said” dead?

Are you sick of said?

Said, said, said. Do you get tired of writing that your characters said everything? “Yes, I ate your plums,” he said. She said, “I want to be alone.” “Josh will never eat those Brussels sprouts,” Debbie said, “even if you make him sit there all night.”

Wouldn’t it be more interesting to use a variety of dialogue tags? “Yes, I ate your plums,” he taunted. She whined, “I want to be alone.” “Josh will never eat those Brussels sprouts,” Debbie warned, “even if you make him sit there all night.”

Is said dead?

As I browsed for new pins for my Creative Power Writing Pinterest page, I kept coming across posts like these: “190 Ways to Say ‘Said,’” “I’m Sick of ‘Said,’” “Other Words for ‘Said,’” “‘Said’ is Dead.” Great action verbs were offered—protested, kibitzed, mourned, spluttered, opined… You’d think I’d re-pin those posts and plaster them all over my website and Facebook page, right?  Continue reading Is “Said” Dead? Laying to Rest Some Myths About Dialogue Tags

Top 5 Dialogue Formatting Tips

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Can Readers Navigate Your Dialogue?

You might write killer dialogue, but if it’s not reader-friendly, it might as well be ancient Greek. If your reader has to go back and reread to figure out who is speaking, your momentum will die right there like a car out of gas. If you present a couple of talking heads with no action, your reader will yawn as he browses for the next author’s story. Formatting conventions such as dialogue tags and beats are not just fluff—they help the reader stay aware of who is speaking at every moment, along with each character’s body language and movement in space, maintaining the dramatic tension and allowing scenes to flow smoothly.

Today’s post will teach you all you need to know about formatting dialogue, from quotation marks to paragraphing. As a bonus, I’ve copied these tips into a handy .pdf document you can download and print out to keep handy. You’ll find it at the end of the article. Continue reading Top 5 Dialogue Formatting Tips