tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post8508377078438423766..comments2023-07-20T10:21:22.451-04:00Comments on Twenty-First Century Blues: On Writing: Eight Thoughts about Dialogrwwgreenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07256634291144393792noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post-59306109837664252952011-12-13T20:58:13.175-05:002011-12-13T20:58:13.175-05:00Then there's the abbreviated "said" ...Then there's the abbreviated "said" ... no he or she ... just said. <br /><br />Me, I don't like it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post-76892090592324554592011-12-08T12:41:31.618-05:002011-12-08T12:41:31.618-05:00I take your point; that's one of the things th...I take your point; that's one of the things that drives me a bit buggy about Jeff Lindsay's "Dexter" novels. I think the trick is to avoid becoming over-reliant on direct attributives, and use the indirect form where possible. If you look at the student examples (revised), there are only two saids in the first exchange and one in the second -- a total of three in eight lines of dialog.rwwgreenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07256634291144393792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post-69784708366743272262011-12-08T11:48:07.975-05:002011-12-08T11:48:07.975-05:00You are right, in general, about "said."...You are right, in general, about "said." However, its use with EVERY quotation is too much. I taught high school English in a vo-tech school. The only way to get all the students to read a story was to read it aloud. In one story in our anthology, "said" was used with every quotation, and even my not-too-literary students were laughing about it by the time we got halfway through the story.J. Thomas Rosshttp://www.jthomasross.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post-23040863650909995482011-12-08T06:01:05.789-05:002011-12-08T06:01:05.789-05:00I wouldn't dare to offer "rules" on ...I wouldn't dare to offer "rules" on much of anything, much less something as taste sensitive as writing/reading. Some will agree with my thoughts (Stephen King, Elmore Leonard); some will not. And so it goes.rwwgreenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07256634291144393792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post-63149600999142404712011-12-08T01:42:51.882-05:002011-12-08T01:42:51.882-05:00The words "said" and "asked" g...The words "said" and "asked" get old. I want to stop reading when I see them over and over and over...Cheryl M.http://www.writezalot.weebly.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post-83385146954023356362011-12-08T01:20:47.605-05:002011-12-08T01:20:47.605-05:00My characters talk a lot. I’ll have to make sure t...My characters talk a lot. I’ll have to make sure they are following the rules. Sounded like it, but I’ll double check.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438130827587164228.post-59505259817866728282011-12-07T17:48:34.709-05:002011-12-07T17:48:34.709-05:00Would it surprise you that dialogue is my favorite...Would it surprise you that dialogue is my favorite thing to write? If, that is, I can stop talking long enough to do it.Kelly Stone Gamblehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05580080443113053144noreply@blogger.com