fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2702 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2702 ⌋

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Sometimes I just want to post the Turkey City Lexicon (http://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/turkey-city-lexicon-a-primer-for-sf-workshops/) on every fan site there is, because holy shit do I see Burly Detective Syndrome all over the goddamn place. Also there are some people who seem to be allergic to the word "said" which is equally annoying.

Occasionally I just quit fics if they have more than a certain amount of dialogue without ever using "said". Even if the fic is good, I'm still hyper-aware of the said-bookism.

Yeah, it makes it hard to tell who is talking if they leave out identifiers like s/he or [name] said. I'm always hyper aware that people know who is talking when I write.

What about writing that primarily uses action tags instead?

That never bothers for me for some reason (I use action tags a lot myself. Possibly too much). It adds a different pacing, maybe? But something like this

'"This is an example," X contributed.

"It's a bad one," Y quipped.'

for every dialogue tag in the story throws me off. I mean, I don't think those kinds of dialogue tags are bad or shouldn't be used, I just focus on them way more than I should.

Oh! I thought you were referring to writing that didn't use any dialogue tags rather than a lot of alternatives to "said." Constantly using variations like your example is terribly distracting, and in my opinion weak writing.

Yeah, I don't think I explained myself very clearly in that first comment. :) I agree that it's weak writing; along with being distracting, I feel there are times when that kind of dialogue tag can be very effective, but using them constantly weakens that effect.

Hmmmm... I actually prefer variations. But then, I find it incredibly distracting/irritating to see 'said' all the time. To me, overusing 'said' is weak writing.

...When it comes to mechanics, we are not the same target audience apparently!

Hah, yeah apparently not. The majority of what I've read about writing says it's best to reduce dialogue tags in favor of action tags, and then when a dialogue tag is needed to use "said" more often than not - the idea is that the brain tends to skip over "said" and not notice it. Not always true for everyone, I suppose :)

The thing about How To Write books is that they change according to the prevailing wisdom of the era in which they're written. They're not meaningless, exactly, but they are an excellent gauge of what's trendy in writing circles at the time that they're written.

They're also highly subjective as seen in that tidbit about how (that particular writer's) brain functions, but their opinions are often applied across the board. And it's interesting to me how few of them are written by writers who are raking it in over their prose. A few are written by that type, but not many.

All of that said, there are definitely some interesting/good ideas in them, but take them with a grain of salt.

But a lot of popular/classic/modern classics don't follow those rules. Frex, the beginning of JKR's HP & the Sorcerer's Stone breaks several majority "writing rules" in favor of telling a good story. And it certainly seems to have paid off.

Oh, certainly, all advice changes with the wind. I just agreed with them on this one. It makes sense to me to try in most cases to convey the tone of dialogue through other means. But descriptive tags definitely have a place, especially in books like HP.

I like that. But then, I'm super aware of someone who uses "said" too much/constantly. And it annoys me. Different strokes, you know?

I think it's best to achieve a balance between 'said' and alternative tags, as well as using other options to limit your use of such tags. Using 'said' too much is distracting, but going out of your way to never use 'said' can also be distracting.

EVERYTHING IN MODERATION.

MLP fandom refers to this as Lavender Unicorn Syndrome. There's a fic with that name on FIMfiction where a magical illness turns everyone in Ponyville into lavender unicorns. (And yes, most of their dialogue is "said the lavender unicorn.")

See, at least that would be funny for a page or two.

[ SECRET POST #2702 ]

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