Seven Hurdles For New Writers: Number Three

Dialogue Tags to Die for

God bless Nathan Bransford.  When I started writing, his blog provided information about dialogue tags and their proper use.  (If you are a newbie writer and you do not know who Nathan is, I suggest you Google, “Nathan Bransford blog” right now.  His site is a wealth of information.)

Dialogue tags are these little descriptive bits that help readers determine who is talking.  If my fuzzy memories of high school English are accurate, they are linking verbs.

     Example of a dialogue tag:

 “Bernadette is such a liar,” Jenny said. 

(See how Jenny is the subject, said is the verb, and your dialogue is essentially the direct object?  Dang!  I do remember a thing or two from high school.)

So, what is the deal with dialogue tags?  Simply put, get them right and your dialogue flows smooth and clear.  Get them wrong, and you stinketh up your manuscript.

Grammar and punctuation aside, let me offer the two most basic principles about dialogue tags:

1.  Verb after subject works best.  (This one is a bit subjective since I have seen some very successful writers ignore this rule.)  As a reader though, having the subject/verb placement backwards in a dialogue tag really bugs me.

     Example:

“Bernadette is such a liar,” said Jenny.  (“Said” is the verb; “Jenny” is the subject.)

To me, flipping the subject/verb order makes the sentence sound kinda robotic or snooty.  Take it for what it is worth.  *grin*

2.  Keep it simple.  (I think this is the number one rule for dialogue tags.)

     Example:

“You make me laugh,” Tammy said.

See how the dialogue tag in this sentence is simple and straightforward?  It almost blends into the background—becomes invisible.  That is the goal.  Get the reader to focus on the dialogue and use the tag only when needed to help the reader understand who is speaking.  The less noticeable the tag, the better.

     Examples of sucky dialogue tags:

“You make me so mad,” she said angrily.

“Why,” he inquired.

“You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met,” she informed him with a shout.

“Well, you’re the one acting like a two year old,” he replied.

“Yet you’re the one sleeping on the couch tonight,” she ranted.

See how all those dialogue tags drain the life out that brief conversation?  They make it stilted and unrealistic.  Watch what happens to the same dialogue when we follow the “simple” rule about tags.

     Revised dialogue:

“You make me so mad,” she said.

“Why?”

“You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met!”

“Well, you’re the one acting like a two year old,” he said.

“Yet you’re the one sleeping on the couch tonight.”

 

The best rule of thumb regarding dialogue tags is to use them sparingly and to make them as invisible as possible.  Let the reader focus on your characters and their conversation, not on your dialogue tags.