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I don't have a problem with them (they're called bookisms, I believe) if: You don't overdo it. It's tempting to make every dialogue tag something vivid or extra. Don't. D.W. Smith pointed out in ...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-13T12:00:16Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8122 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T02:55:27Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/8122 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
I don't have a problem with them (they're called _bookisms,_ I believe) _if_: 1. **You don't overdo it.** It's tempting to make every dialogue tag something vivid or extra. Don't. D.W. Smith pointed out in a writing tutorial once that "the word _said_ is invisible." It really is. Be judicious with bookisms. Think of them as salt: a little is good; too much ruins the dish. 2. **You use them when they are necessary.** That is, you use "sighed" because it conveys extra meaning which would otherwise be lost, and which can't be conveyed another way. For example: `"'I hate you,' she crooned."` _Crooned_ means something very specific which is very difficult to describe using `she said with TKTKTK.` (Credit Kate Sherwood) Other answers which will be useful to you: [Attributives in dialogue](https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/4751/attributives-in-dialogue/4753) [I'm getting tired of "he said" "she said" in dialogue; how do I get around it?](https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/3161/im-getting-tired-of-he-said-she-said-in-dialogue-how-do-i-get-around-it) [Dialog, just what's the best way to write it?](https://writers.stackexchange.com/questions/1861/dialog-just-whats-the-best-way-to-write-it/1870)
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2013-06-11T14:14:31Z (over 11 years ago)
Original score: 10