writing-questions-answered:Anonymous asked:hey! could you give some examples of too much...

writing-questions-answered:

Anonymous asked:

hey! could you give some examples of too much narration/dialogue tags vs. too little? I’m struggling to find the happy middle (that rhymed)

Narration isn’t tagged, so I’m not sure what you mean there. :)

Tagging is important when it may be unclear who is speaking, such as when there are three or more people in a conversation. However, even when there are two people speaking, it’s sometimes nice to be reminded of who is speaking.

There are straight up name/pronoun tags, like “she said” or “shouted Ted,” and then there are action tags, which illustrate an action taking place before, during, or after the line of dialogue. Action tags are a great way to illustrate who is speaking without using a name/pronoun tag.

Over tagging occurs when you use more tags than are necessary to illustrate who is speaking. Under tagging occurs when it is unclear who is speaking.

Example of Over Tagging“Stanley is home from work,” Melissa said.

Fred slapped his hands together. “Awesome! Maybe he brought pizza.”
“If he didn’t, we can order some.” Melissa searched for the Pizza Hut menu. “Do you know what you would want?” she asked.

Fred took the menu from Melissa. “Hmm… I’m not a fan of pepperoni,” he said with a frown. “Do you like sausage?” he asked.

“I’m okay with either one,” Melissa said with a shrug. “Or we could just get a five cheese pizza.”
Problem: because there are only two people involved in this conversation Fred and Melissa), we can rely somewhat on the “back and forth” of dialogue to know who is speaking. So, it isn’t necessary for every single line of dialogue to be tagged.
Example of Under Tagging

“Stanley is home from work.”

Fred slapped his hands together. “Awesome! Maybe he brought pizza.”

“Oh, let’s hope!”

“If he didn’t, we can order some. Do you know what you would want?” 

“Hmm… I’m not a fan of pepperoni,” he said with a frown. “Do you like sausage?” he asked.

“I’m okay with either one,” Melissa said with a shrug. “Or we could just get a five cheese pizza.”

“Let’s wait and see what Stanley wants to do. Maybe he brought some home after all?” said Trevor.

Problem: Because there are three people involved in this conversation (Fred, Melissa, and Trevor), it’s completely unclear who is saying what. Who says the first line? Who says the third and fourth line? Who does “he said” refer to?

I hope that clears it up! :)



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