You miss me, don't you? Well, you should. Just kidding! Don't stop following me, I really am not that arrogant, I swear. Okay, maybe a LITTLE bit... no, not really.
I'm in a good mood. Why, you ask? It isn't because I have been revising, getting feedback, etc. No, it has nothing to do with winning the lottery. It might have just a little bit to do with my new job. I feel productive again in an environment where I don't have to worry if I will hurt my wrists more, therefore putting me out of commission before I can reach retirement age.
I won't go into all the boring details, I promise. I am just having fun and finally feeling a little more organized.
I'm also in a good mood because I think I have hit yet another writing break-through. Now, I don't know just how to explain it, so you will have to take my word for it.
While I am here, I did get feedback from my new best pal, Nancy. She told me that publishers say "said" is the only acceptable tag when writing. Now, I am not doubting my critiquing buddy, nor am I harshing on her in any way shape or form.
But really? 'Said' is the only acceptable tag? I've been reading lots of books lately... okay my whole life. I like those authors who break the mold a bit and try to avoid using said as much as possible. 'Said' gets extremely boring. In my opinion. Am I the only one who thinks this way? Yes, just another item to make myself isolated, lol!
Seriously, since when do publishers get to make up these rules? Yes... I know, they ARE the publisher after all. I do get it. I just... I suppose I am one to fight the masses, stand out and probably now will never be published because I don't like to use 'said' all the time. :)
I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend. And tell me, what do you think?
4 comments:
From the discussions I've heard, said needs to be used most of the time - but not all. I think it's just the overuse of fancy words you want to avoid.
Glad you're enjoying the job!
Generally it seems you need to use 'said' or 'asked' much of the time, but you can vary things every so often as long as you do it right. None of the 'said happily'-type stuff.
Then again, all of my favorite authors break these rules constantly.
"What about 'asked?' " chirped Wren.
Oh -- somebody else picked up on asked.
While we're at it, how about joining me in a crusade to adopt British rules about " marks? That is, the first sentence here would be 'asked' ? rather than 'asked?'. This usage corresponds to the way we use parentheses, and follows logic. The Brits place punctuation inside only for dialog, not emphasis.
Common usage only changes when uncommon people urge the masses to follow their lead. Let's not be common!
Congrats on the writing breakthrough, and I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your new job too :D
I've heard from most people that 'said' should be the only tag because it's a boring and overused one. This way nothing else detracts from the story or distracts the reader from the power in the words of the dialogue. I think this advice is mainly for people who overuse tags that aren't to do with speech, such as "...", he smiled.
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