tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10722111911442589.post3905943303825812857..comments2023-09-11T04:28:51.223-07:00Comments on Writings, Musings & Other Such Nonsense: I Know...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10722111911442589.post-71217649570237456192010-09-13T01:39:24.515-07:002010-09-13T01:39:24.515-07:00Congrats on the writing breakthrough, and I'm ...Congrats on the writing breakthrough, and I'm glad to hear that you're enjoying your new job too :D<br /><br />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.Jamie Gibbshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15168603412367448706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10722111911442589.post-42976916606313017532010-09-11T03:17:07.661-07:002010-09-11T03:17:07.661-07:00"What about 'asked?' " chirped W..."What about 'asked?' " chirped Wren. <br /><br />Oh -- somebody else picked up on asked. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />Common usage only changes when uncommon people urge the masses to follow their lead. Let's not be common!Sharon Lippincotthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269757107845288737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10722111911442589.post-58577620574795841912010-09-10T23:16:04.461-07:002010-09-10T23:16:04.461-07:00Generally it seems you need to use 'said' ...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.<br /><br />Then again, all of my favorite authors break these rules constantly.Ted Crosshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09022309459554237650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10722111911442589.post-28068383290399399112010-09-10T17:21:31.389-07:002010-09-10T17:21:31.389-07:00From the discussions I've heard, said needs to...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.<br /><br />Glad you're enjoying the job!Alex J. Cavanaughhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09770065693345181702noreply@blogger.com