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Health & Fitness

Ch 7: The Rules of Writing (Limit Dialogue Tags)

This is a new series of blog posts about writing, the rules, and how to get started on your writing journey.

This is a new series of blog posts about writing, the rules, and how to get started on your writing journey, based off several workshops for teens I've given at the Palatine Public Library. This series is also posted on figment.com and wattpad.com, two places where teen writers gather to share their work.

Ch 7: The Rules of Writing (Limit Dialogue Tags)

Every writer starts out wanting to add dialogue tags:

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"I want pie now!" she screamed.

or

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"You don't have to be so silly," he huffed chirpily.

(Chirpily? I'm not even sure that's a word! :) )

The preferred dialogue tag (when one is absolutely necessary, so that we know who is talking) is a simple "he said" or "I said." Said is invisible to the reader, making the reading experience flow more naturally. Said-isms are dialogue tags that stick out because they screamed or huffed or said chirpily at the reader.

Don't let your dialogue tags pull your reader out of the reading experience!

While there are certainly published authors that use said-isms with abandon, your dialogue will be much stronger without them. 

The Redundant Tag

"It's terrible!" Shelly complained. --> We can tell from the dialogue that Shelly is complaining, so adding the "complained" is a redundancy that clutters your work. Replace it with said, or if it's obvious that Shelly is the one complaining, eliminate the dialogue tag altogether.

Put Emotion In Your Dialogue, Not the Tag (or punctuation)

If your reader has no idea what the emotion or meaning of your dialogue is unless they have read the dialogue tag, then you need to strengthen your dialogue. Similarly, with punctuation. Don't let punctuation carry your emotion; put it in your words.

"I didn't like the movie," she growled. --> emotion in the tag

"That movie was the worst!!!" she said. --> emotion in the punctuation

"That movie was the worst thing I've seen in my entire life. How could you possibly stand it?" she said. -->emotion in the dialogue

Exception: If the dialogue and the dialogue tag say opposite things, you may need to keep it, to make sure the reader sees the contradiction (useful for irony or sarcasm)

"It's delicious," she grumped.

The best dialogue tag is no dialogue tag. Eliminate as many as you can by giving your characters distinctive voices and crafting your dialogue to make it clear who is speaking. Scrutinize the rest to make them as invisible or necessary as they can be.

Your readers will thank you!

 

~*~

Susan Kaye Quinn is a young adult author. Her newly released paranormal/SF novel Open Minds is available on Amazon and Barnes&Noble. You can subscribe to her author newsletter to find out about upcoming releases and giveaways: www.susankayequinn.com

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