Tagged Questions
3
votes
2answers
103 views
Is it correct to use verbs like “sighed” and “laughed” as dialogue tags?
In other words, is it correct to write something like this:
"Oh," he laughed. "Sorry, I'm not sure what's with me today."
(Every time I see something like this, I think: "How is this peson ...
2
votes
3answers
94 views
Is it unusual for a flashback to have a very long dialogue?
This flashback is from a short story I'm writing (unedited first draft):
I met Limei last summer. Our class had organized a graduation trip to
Green Island, where we stayed for fourteen days and ...
0
votes
1answer
69 views
A more effective way of writing this dialogue:
I'm translating a story, and there is scene in it where an ex-colleague asks the man who had slapped the female protagonist the reason for his doing so. In reply, all he says is something like, “What ...
3
votes
3answers
96 views
Putting a dialogue a tag before a quote
Sometimes I see stuff like this:
X said, "..."
"..." X did this, and then said, "..."
Is it used to just vary sentence structure? Or to make dialogue more readable or smoother in certain ...
6
votes
6answers
174 views
Should dull dialogue be removed completely?
The following dialogue is from a novel I'm writing (first draft):
"You're quiet tonight," Erin said to Benjamin, who seemed to be lost
in thoughts.
He looked up and took a sip of his drink. ...
3
votes
2answers
142 views
Do the characters in the following dialogue sound the same?
The following unedited dialogue is from a novel I'm writing (which is based on a short story I wrote a while ago):
"I hope it's not an inappropriate question," Icaro said, after
hesitating for a ...
4
votes
3answers
216 views
Deciding whether to use a dialogue tag or an action tag in a dialogue
Example:
"I'm not saying you don't know what you are talking about," he said,
then looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "But I don't know what
you are talking about."
"I'm not saying ...
6
votes
7answers
658 views
Dialogue writing practices?
First time novelist, long time writer here. I'm looking for creative writing exercises to help with my dialogue.
Any ideas?
