It's subtext. When Dickens was talking about Mrs. Sowerberry in Oliver Twist he was actually talking about a repressed sexual spririt and its transcendant abortive nature.
Warning: Rant Follows I would say the worst dialogue mistake any writer can make is refusing to use dialogue tags. Nothing makes me put a book down faster than encountering wads of unattributed dialogue. It has nothing to do with giving me confidence. I simply cannot be bothered, as a reader, counting on my fingers to keep track of who said what. If I blink, I have to start again—and you know what? I won't bother. Avoiding dialogue tags on principle is just ...not smart writing. And deciding not to portray a three-way conversation 'unless there is a reason,' in order to avoid dialogue tags? That really is hamstringing a writer's ability to tell a story. I find it disheartening that so many people want to ditch long-established writing tools because they don't understand how to use them well. Don't use dialogue tags is just one in the series, which includes: don't use italics for thoughts don't use semicolons don't use colons don't use -ly words don't write prologues don't use adjectives don't name your chapters What's next? Don't use words that have more than two syllables? Don't use the word 'green' because agents associate 'green' with being sick? Don't use commas because they look like little flecks of dirt on the page? When does this stop?
And don't forget: don't write in the present tense don't tell! Never tell! Bottom line: learn how to use each tool properly at the proper time, and from there, do whatever suits you. There's really no black and white in writing, except perhaps when it comes to SPAG (and even then... )
I agree, many of your suggestions are excellent, going forward @jannert: no to italics, tags, particularly verbs are a nuisance, always having to return, insert a verb, when I might be figurating my cuticle arrangement, pile of clippings at my elbow. I hate books, all sense, communication is abomination, hic.
I would say that the worst mistake a writer can make is to stop experimenting and learning. Part of learning is reading authors who use techniques different from what one's self uses. The reader may discover that a technique he has always hated is being used by a new author (new to that reader, that is) to great affect. For example, I ordinarily despise weather openings, but some stories (Neuromancer and 1984, for example) do it really well. Incidentally, I believe in not doing ANYTHING unless I have a good reason to do it. There's nothing I hate more than reading a slovenly written story. Everything should be done with deliberation. But, as I said earlier, I may one day come across a new author who has managed to write slovenly and do it well.
I think it comes down to each writer's own personal style and tastes. If they strictly want to use or avoid the use of the word "said", they can. Many of us fall between those extremes. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to writing. As long as people can understand and enjoy what they read, that's all that counts. Of course, there are certain structures when it comes to writing which give a narrative a professional polish, such as an absence of spelling errors, sentence structures within accepted grammatical guidelines, and the like, but the choice of weather or not to use "said" in a particular sentence (or entire piece) is down the author. The reader can then decide if they enjoy the fruits of that decision - again, this is down to individual preferences. Find a style that suits both you as the author and your intended audience, and you can safely say your decision was sound.
As Justin said, writing is a learning process. It's also an unlearning process. English teachers pound in the lesson that repetition is bad. But it's a lesson that can lead you down the wrong path, too. "Said" is one of those bad paths. No one worries about too many "the" or "of". They are essential glue that binds a sentence together, and therefore are practically invisible. The same is true of unadorned dialogue tags like "said" and "asked". Used correctly, they fade into the shadows like ninjas, their work completed. That work is to unobtrusively indicate who was the speaker of a particular fragment of speech. Occasionally, you want to do more than that, so you resort to flashier verbs. Your character mutters, or shouts, instead of merely saying. But do so warily, lest you shine a spotlight on the ninjas and interfere with their vital task.
Perhaps try writing from a form other than the past tense. I have noticed that it cuts out the word 'said' considerably. Try real time where it happens in the moment and not the past. Just a suggestion. Thought to be fair in my writing there is more barking than plain old speak.
FINALLY, thank you! I break all of these rules; I write in my own way. Seeing "said" again and again, it jumps right out at me--in a bad way. It does fade into the background--and doesn't tell me anything expect that they have spoken out loud. I don't know how the character talking is feeling or thinking. What if they're lying, or being sarcastic? What if they're anxious and are just saying what the other person wants to hear? What if they're flat-out guessing for an answer? How will I, as the reader, know all those things if they merely "said" it?
@Pixiebells the majority of writers use said almost exclusively and manage to convey all that. You don't have to rely on dialogue tags for it. I feel like in 99% of cases, if you need a dialogue tag to make that clear, something else is lacking. I'll use another tag on occasion, but I can convey everything you're talking about without a tag.
What if they're lying, or being sarcastic? What if they're anxious and are just saying what the other person wants to hear? What if they're flat-out guessing for an answer? "I think you are 100% correct and "said" should be banned as part of all style guides everywhere," Aaron DC said. "Yeah right. And let's ban periods, commas and semi colons while we're at it," Aaron DC said. "Hang on hang on. She does have a point, you know. Plus agreeing with Jannert is rarely going to see you wrong, right?" Aaron DC said. "Uh ... well ... ya see ... sure. I mean. Yeah you can use "said" if you want, I guess. I mean, you don't have to though, yeah? What's a tag anyway?" Aaron DC said. No idea.
You'll know because of the way that the writer wrote the dialogue, and the way that they depict any facial expressions, actions, etc Consider a movie. When a character speaks, you don't have a narrator explaining what they meant. When The Terminator said, "I'll be back." there wasn't a narrator explaining, "Now, viewers, the Terminator means that in a threatening manner. He will be 'back' as part of launching an attack." When Princess Leia said, "I love you" and Han Solo said, "I know," there wasn't a narrator explaining, "What Han Solo meant by that unexpected response was..." And here, do you see the problem? What would the narrator say? Wouldn't an explanation in cold, hard words destroy the moment? Isn't our opportunity to interpret what's going on part of the enjoyment of watching that scene? It's the viewer's job to figure it out. Wouldn't having that narrator explaining every last nuance of movie or TV dialog to you be incredibly annoying? That's how I feel about dialogue tags that re-explain the dialogue, and about narrative that explains what the writer should have conveyed without explanation.
After having a lovely conversation with a stellar individual (mind you we were discussing something with more depth than past tense syntax). It seems that there is a bit of bias here toward a commonly used word. If 'said' causes you any amount of grief, perhaps you are making a mountain out of a moll hill. As ChickenFreak thinks that literature and cinematography are in parallel (which they are not). Jam a book in your VCR and let me know what happens if you like his drawing of parallels. Try adding instead an inflection or a tone of voice in lieu of just simply stating 'said'. Sorry @ChickenFreak if I have misconstrued anything you have said . How many (raise your voice, not even joking) have knocked Mark Twain or any other historical writer predating this modern age for merely using 'said' at any given point. I thoroughly enjoy Mark Twain, and many other pieces throughout history. Ever read Hotel Berlin '43? It is a lovely novella written in 1944 that is a wonderful mix of WWII and a Romance. How about The Count of Monte Christo, a time and tested master piece by Alexandre Dumas? I say: Shut up or step up. Sound like a bunch of petty children fighting over a sucker. For Christ's sake, grow the hell on up! We are all entitled to our opinions, but seeing as we are all hopefully adults. Will not take such petty things to heart. Does 'said' really ruin a story for you? Sad thing is I am probably the youngest one of all of you (28) and can see how petty and stupid you sound. Pathetic the lot of you.
he said grumpily, his little troll nose quivering in rage, his eyebrows creased in the middle with consternation and his lazy left eye looking off into the distance with wild, uncontrollable abandon. I wiped his spittle from my face and offered a meek, "oh. ok then". Turned, then walked away. I shook my head at the way he had entirely missed the point, but it seemed redundant to show that most people had in fact no problem with said whatsoever, and only OP really seemed opposed to it. "Ah well." I bemoaned, sadly, my redundant dialog attribution floating in the air behind me like some unnecessary wart on the nose of a cave troll.
I don't know if it is more comical that @Cave Troll posts the only childish post in the thread and uses it to tell everyone to grow up, or that he misread (or failed to read) the thread before trolling it.
Nice ad hominem attack there, very mature. I would clap for you if you had been, but a bit more clever. Perhaps that is all you are good at is ad hominem attacks along with the buffoons that see things as you do. Oh wait you probably don't have a clue what an ad hominem attack is.
Bah, humbug. 'Said' is fine. Just like anything else, use it too much and it's shit, use it too little and it's shit. If it's not obvious then may the great spaghetti monster help you...
I don't know who you are and I don't care. What I do care about is that your posts are making this thread toxic. We all want the same thing, to be better writers. Mutual respect is more constructive than its absence.
It's a good way to weed out the amateurs who don't know what they're doing and the creatives who do. If they blindly follow the rules there will be natural limitations to their abilities to judge everything else.
Buh? Why exactly are you addressing me (I realize that you're insulting absolutely everyone, but I'm the only one you mentioned by name) in a post where you defend the use of "said", when I have been advocating the use of "said"?
