Lecture 7: The Mechanics of Writing Dialogue
z Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn’t be too sparing with dialogue
tags. On the one hand, you don’t want to be obtrusive or redundant, but
on the other hand, you don’t want the reader to get confused. You want
to strike a balance between letting the characters’ actual words carry the
weight of the conversation and risking that the reader will lose track of
who’s saying what.z Even if only two people are talking, a dialogue tag may be necessary
later in the conversation, especially if it goes on for a long time and isn’t
broken up with much action or exposition.
o Crime stories, for example, often feature long conversations in
which an investigator asks a suspect or witness a long series
of questions. Some writers introduce the two characters at the
start, then dispense with dialogue tags entirely, assuming that
it’s clear from the dialogue who’s asking questions and who’s
answering them.o However, even if the writer is careful to distinguish between
the two speakers at the start of a long exchange, at times,
readers can get confused about who’s speaking. In these cases,
it’s helpful for the writer to include a dialogue tag every few
lines as a signpost for readers.z Again, when you use dialogue tags, keep them as simple as possible,
avoiding excessive description or explanation. It may be helpful to
use a stronger verb or an adverb in some instances, but in general, the
dialogue itself should carry as much of the meaning as possible, without
unnecessary help. “‘You’re a clumsy idiot,’ said the coach” is probably
clear enough without any extra emphasis; “‘You’re a clumsy idiot,’
said the coach disparagingly” is unnecessary, given that the coach is
obviously disparaging his listener.Interweaving Dialogue Tags with Narrative
z The most graceful way to write dialogue is not to separate it from
the rest of the narrative but to interweave the two. In real life, people
don’t always stop what they’re doing to talk to each other but carry on
conversations while doing other things. Further, each participant in real-