Article on the use and abuse of dialogue tags.

[emmagrant01]

I have a feeling I have posted this here before, years ago. Anyway, I just came across it in my bookmarks, and just want to say A-FUCKING-MEN to every word of it.

THIS is exactly how I try to write dialogue tags, when I use them at all. The author explains exactly why this is the gold standard in professional writing.

Comments

[kerryblaze.livejournal.com]

"Ron ejaculated loudly" will never stop being funny. :D

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

LOL! Oh, JKR...

[sorion.livejournal.com]

I only not use "said" when the person is specifically doing something else. It happens, but not as often as primary school teachers try to make you believe when you're supposed to write the master piece "What I Did During the Holiday Break"...

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I actually try to use as few dialogue tags as possible as a rule. If I feel like "said" isn't enough, then I just write what the person is doing, and then let the quotation marks stand alone. She touches on that in the article, actually. :-)

[sorion.livejournal.com]

I had to look at a recent story to even know what I do XD There are less dialogue tags than I thought there would be. I seem to avoid them, too.
Of those that are there, it's mostly say, ask, answer and the likes. But I don't fight them; if something fits, it fits. I just want the overall picture to work. (And since I do use a heckload of dialogues - it's definitely what I like writing the most - I don't want to avoid the tags at all cost...)

[nenne.livejournal.com]

That was a good read actually. :)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Yes! :-D

[grey-hunter.livejournal.com]

And of course, avoid the dialogue tag, "He ejaculated." At the very least, don't use that as a dialogue tag during a sex scene -- unless you want a laugh.

LOL *hides*

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

We're looking at you, JKR! Or did I imagine that Harry/Ron sex scene.... Hmmm. :-P

[vaysh]

Thanks for the link - I always look for good ways to say what I mean and the differentiation between "dialogue tag", "action tag" and "adverbial dialogue tag" is great. Now, if only there was a good German translation. :)

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Are the standards for good use of dialogue tags different in German, or is it similar?

[vaysh]

They are very much the same. "sie/er sagte" (= s/he said) sounds perhaps a tad more repetitive in German than it thus in English, thus the authors have to work a little harder to make reasonable use of it or avoid it alltogether. Without speech, action or adverbial speech tags, of course. ;)

[damned-queen.livejournal.com]

Thanks, that was a good read :-)

Personally, I do hate it when auteurs don't use enough dialogue tags. There's nothing more annoying than having to trace back through the dialogue to catch who's saying what again.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

I try to use as few dialogue tags as possible, actually. I think they disrupt the flow of the narrative, and I tend to avoid them. My own personal rule is never to go more than three dialogue turns with indicating in some way who is speaking -- otherwise it can definitely get confusing!

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

I agree and I also disagree. I'm at the point where I've almost stopped using dialogue tags altogether. Because remember that busienss of reading outloud? The "d" in "said" is a heavy sound. I think that if you have a ton of "he saids" "she saids" then you run the danger of destroying or at least seriously hampering any lyrical sound you may have in a passage. I think it's a tricksy thing.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Actually, I completely agree with you. I try to use as few dialogue tags as possible, and to let the context show who is speaking.

[veritas03.livejournal.com]

How depressing. The very last thing I wrote has Draco hissing and Harry growling. And they were not in snake or lion animagus forms. *sighs* Well, I edited and changed them. Better late than never, I suppose. Thanks for sharing that post.