But I wanted to share one little thought from the class Character, Conflict and Plot by Craig Nybo, author of Allied Zombies for Peace--he was hilarious and energetic, by the way.
If you find yourself writing "he said" take a knife and stab yourself in the hand and then delete it [not your hand] and find a better way to show it.That just made me smile.
But it does beg the question: are you a fan of dialogue tags?
Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't depends on the book I guess.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you need them.
ReplyDeleteHe said is better than he coughed/spluttered/gasped/wheezed... (Dear Lord, I'm really trying to kill him off, aren't I?)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Alex. I think balance is the key in using "said" vs. action instead to identify the speaker vs. not needing anything in a 2 person dialogue.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it works as some complain that they get lost if you don't use them, but I only use them when nessecary.
ReplyDelete"I got a critique back lately that complained about my dialogue tags having too much action in them," she said, entering the text into the comment reply box. <<like that. It apparently gets tedious after awhile. :)
ReplyDeleteI think if you don't use "he said" at least sometimes, especially in a sit down conversation, your characters are going to be moving up down forward scratching nodding sniffing tapping snorting biting reaching, etc...and eventually THAT is going to make me want to stab myself in the hand. :)
ReplyDeleteNo, not really. I use them only enough to keep track of who's saying what. I prefer incidental action set before, between, or after dialogue. But sometimes, you gotta use them & getting overly creative is distracting to the reader.
ReplyDeleteI don't think dialogue tags are bad. It's just that the writer needs to use them in a way that makes them more or less invisible. I agree with Ilima.
ReplyDeleteSome mighty funny comments here. I too find that too much action in the tag gets tedious.
ReplyDeleteI don't avoid them completely, but I do try to vary them.
ReplyDeleteLike Matthew said, variation is the key, and knowing when not to use them. :)
ReplyDeleteSometimes you need said. It's better than dialogue tags, but most of them time we should be seeing exactly what the character is doing and feeling.
ReplyDeleteI use them, but I also use physical beats. It depends on my needs at the time. I don't believe you can get rid of them entirely, and you shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI think dialogue tags are fine until they start distracting from the story. Using 'said' is often a good thing, because it doesn't distract easily. A good resort if you've used a few too many other tags and need to use something plainer before it gets too over-the-top. Well, that's what I think anyway.
ReplyDelete