Part 2 is about dialogue tags. This is one of my favorite topics!
2. Dialogue tags don’t have to be scary!
“Said” and “Asked” are the main words in question. I’ve seen contradictory advice on this topic; some saying that you should avoid using these words over and over again to avoid redundancy, and others say it’s not that bad. I tend to be of the second party. After all, a litany of “questioned,” “queried,” “clarified,” (or “posed,” “posited,” “ejaculated,” you know what I mean) tends to get distracting when used every line, or even every other line. That said, I prefer not to use “asked” and “said” overmuch either. That’s why I’m sharing a strategy!
First, the advice here regards “said” and “asked” as bridges to the important piece – who is speaking.
A couple notes: 1) When you have only two characters in conversation with each other, you may need to tag less than you think. Let the reader know who said the first two lines, and then you’re good for the next few before the reader needs a reminder. 2) I’m also not saying you shouldn’t use descriptive dialogue tags. “Screamed” is going to be a better tag than “said,” if that is indeed how the character said it. 3) You can use this tip anywhere in your story, even when you’re not looking up “said” in the thesaurus.
All that said, if you get stuck in a long thread of “he said” “she said,” you can swap the tag with an action. Example:
“Where’s your sister?” I asked, pulling away.
“Upstairs,” she said, voice cracked.
“Does she know?” I asked.
Can become:
I pulled away. “Where’s your sister?”
“Upstairs,” she said, voice cracked.
“Does she know?”
It’s short and sweet but shows how you might mix up the different methods so that you don’t feel you’re overusing one technique or another. A couple one-liner examples:
“And how come you to such a conclusion?” she asked dismissively.
Becomes:
She rolled her eyes. “And how come you to such a conclusion?”
OR
“I don’t know,” he said.
Becomes:
He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Another advantage of this method is a way to provide pacing space you wouldn’t otherwise see, and maybe even more importantly, it’s another way to ground the reader in the scene. In the first “conclusion” example, which shows more personality? Would your character roll their eyes, or is “asked dismissively” really more indicative of their personality? If she asked defensively, she could cross her arms. If she’s given to anger, she might grit her teeth. In the “I don’t know,” example, which version gives you a better picture of the mood or how it was said? Think about that “show, don’t tell” mantra. Does it work in the context you’re writing?
Thanks for reading! Part 3 will be out in a few days. See you soon!