Grammar Goth Editing Tips #2: Dialogue Tags

DIALOGUE tags are tricky beasts. They are necessary to show who is speaking, particularly if you have many characters in a scene, but how to use them? Do you get creative to show your character's vocal volume and tone? Do you add an adverb to show your characters mood? Do you use a bit of extra punctuation for emphasis? Perhaps a combination of all of the above?

A clue: no.

Well, not usually. There are exceptions to every rule, if you do things well.

Let's take a look at some different ways to do dialogue tags. Here's a sentence from my current editing WIP, Shiny Things. Note the dialogue tag is the simplest form: Dave said. This is what you want for the majority of your conversations, because it is invisible to the reader, and does not interrupt the flow of the story.

"We're not," Dave said. "Sticking your fingers in the king's eye is totally forbidden."

Here's some other ways you may or may not be going about doing your dialogue tag:

Use an adverb. DONT GO HERE GRAPHIC

"We're not," Dave said angrily. "Sticking your fingers in the king's eye is totally forbidden."

or

"We're not," Dave said shrewishly. "Sticking your fingers in the king's eye is totally forbidden."

or

"We're not," Dave said sweetly. "Sticking your fingers in the king's eye is totally forbidden."

Adverbs allow you to attribute some characterisation to your dialogue, and tell the reader how the character is saying the word. For the love of all that is Goth, please do not ever, ever, use this kind of tag, unless the survival of the entire universe depends on it, and even then be sure to protest. Adverbs are an easy out-they tell your reader what's going on, sure, but they interrupt the flow, weaken your writing and make your characters one dimensional and kind of boring.

Use a verb other than said/asked. USE WITH CAUTION GRAPHIC

Pro: More creative than using said, allowing you to place a spin on how the character is speaking.

Con: Can be disruptive of the flow of the text.

"We're not," Dave whispered. "Sticking your fingers in the king's eye is totally forbidden."

"We're not," Dave declared. "Sticking your fingers in the king's eye is totally forbidden."

"We're not," Dave moaned. "Sticking your fingers in the king's eye is totally forbidden."