Alternative Dialogue Tags

If you are reading the blogs, you are probably up on one of the number one rules of the craft: Thou shalt only use said as a dialogue tag. This is a good rule, one of the best. Nothing screams amatuer like dialogue that is grinned, smiled, or expostulated.

Except...

There's always an exception. In one of my chapters, the dialogue happens in a dark room. Therefore, emotion and nuance can not be shown in body language. While I had to convey most of the feelings in the actual words that were spoken, I needed a dialogue tag that would demonstrate the physical way the dialogue was delivered.

And that's the second part of the rule. If the tag indicates how the speaker is speaking, then it can be used (SPARINGLY).

Here's a list of dialogue tags that convey physical properties of how dialogue was delivered.

Alternatives to said
Babbled
Barked
Bawled
Begged
Bellowed
Blurted
Breathed
Called
Crooned
Crowed
Declared
Demanded
Drawled
Echoed
Exclaimed
Faltered
Groaned
Growled
Grumbled
Hissed
Hollered
Howled
Implored
Mumbled
Murmured
Muttered
Pleaded
Raged
Roared
Sang
Screamed
Shouted
Shrieked
Snarled
Sobbed
Spluttered
Stammered
Stuttered
Swore
Thundered
Wailed
Whimpered
Whined
Whispered
Yelled
Yelped

 

But you should probably use said.

 

Is it ever better to not have a goal?

We all know the big rules of writing: Get your bum in the chair and set a goal.

The goal doesn't have to be a big one. But it has to be something you can accomplish, something that drives you, shames you, makes you stretch.

When I'm drafting, I aim for the standard 1000 words a day. Some days, I write more and feel good. Some days, I write way more and feel great. Some days, I don't get there at all and beat myself up about it. That's what goals are there for.

But now I'm revising my manuscript (and when I say revising, I mean massively rewriting) and the word count goal just doesn't work. Most days, I cut a ton of words and write a whole bunch of new ones so I can't track my progress by looking at my word count on the bottom of my screen.

So I needed a new goal. I decided to make a list of the new scenes I need to write and the existing scenes that need heavy work. I figured I could set a goal of finishing "X of scenes a day".

My list is a whole page, front and back. FRONT AND BACK! I knew I had a long way to go, but seeing it in black and white has floored me. I am overwhelmed. I'm starting to wonder whether I was better off not knowing. And only time will show whether this new goal will drive me faster than no goal at all.

What about you? Do you always have a goal? Does it change as you move through the stages (drafting, revising). Do you work better with or without a goal?

My adventures in Adventures

You probably already know about Adventures in Children's Publishing. After all, they have over a thousand followers. But I just found it and can't recommend it highly enough.

Not only does it offer an amazing collection of informative posts (character worksheets, check lists, and the like) and some great contests (today they are offering 13!! giveaways), but once a month, five lucky people get their first 1250 words posted for a month-long workshop, starting with a critique from contributors Martina and Lisa, as well as the other workshop participants and any other followers who want to comment.

I am fortunate to be one of the five this month (my entry is #5 here). I have to say that Martina and Lisa give some of the best critiques I've seen around. When I went through the other entries to add my comments, I found that Lisa and Martina already made my points, better than I ever could.

If you haven't found Adventures in Children's Publishing yet, go check them out. If you want to offer your comments to the workshop entries, I know I (and I'm sure the other participants) would be very grateful. But definitely check out the comments from Lisa and Martina (both on current entries and on the ones from March), because I learned so much just from reading their critiques.