Tag: dialogue

He Said/ She Sighed Part 3 – Enough Already!

Posted on July 9, 2014 by Catherine Austen

Here’s one last rant sparked by a “how to write fiction” book that advised using “said/say” as the only dialogue verb (as in, “‘I spent thirty dollars on jelly beans at Mont Tremblant this weekend,’ she said.”) (That is a true statement, sadly. They fool you with the… Continue Reading “He Said/ She Sighed Part 3 – Enough Already!”

Category: authors, friday form, writingTags: adverbs, creative process, dialogue, grammar, revising, writing, writing tips

He Said/She Sighed Part 2

Posted on June 27, 2014 by Catherine Austen

4 Comments

I grabbed twenty books from the living room shelf, opened each to a random page, and checked out all the verbs used in dialogue. And here is what I learned: Almost all the authors used a simple “said” at least half the time. But… Continue Reading “He Said/She Sighed Part 2”

Category: friday form, writingTags: dialogue, editing, grammar, revising, rules of writing

He Said/She Sighed – Part One

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Catherine Austen

11 Comments

I dislike lists of rules for writing fiction. There are many good writers whose work I can’t stand. And many books I’ve loved that were obviously flawed. I would not advise anyone to make a paint-by-number novel. Big picture rules are good, like: A… Continue Reading “He Said/She Sighed – Part One”