by Ryan Lanz Writers use dialogue tags constantly. In fact, we use them so often that readers all but gloss over them. They should be invisible. However, there are ways to misuse them and make them stand out. In an effort to avoid that, let’s take a closer look at dialogue tags. Toward the end…
Welcome to Day 4 of our story-oriented Blogging A to Z challenge. Today, we’ll be picking apart dialogue, which feels like it should be easy, doesn’t it? Here’s the thing: dialogue can make or break a story. No pressure, though. Good dialogue weaves seamlessly into the narrative. Bad dialogue… Well, bad dialogue makes readers close the book.…
I’ve read a lot of books. A LOT of books. When I was a kid, I’d get sets of books and be thrilled at the promise of spending countless hours sitting upside-down in my mom’s recliner with an open book. Reading and appreciation of a good story is part of who I am. But in recent…
As I’ve done more critiquing and editing, I’ve noticed certain trends creeping up repeatedly across a variety of texts and from a large handful of different authors. If they happen often enough, they become irritating – not bad enough to anger, but just enough to itch. You know, like that thing at the back of…
Readers choose a story because they think it will hold their interest, so why do they sometimes skim or stop reading the story? There’s probably a variety of reasons, but I’ve noticed a few trends in comments in my critique group and from my own reading habits that may offer some insight. 1. Long, elegant…
A couple weeks back, I wrote a post about dialogue, in which I listed some shoulds and should nots in writing dialogue. If you missed it, you might want to click on the link and get caught up. Go ahead. I’ll wait here. *munches popcorn* Two points I didn’t address in that already-long post were tension…
Dialogue is one of my favorite elements of fiction. While it seems to only show two characters shooting the breeze or arguing, it really does so much more than that. It moves the overall story forward. It reveals character. It provides action within a scene. It quickens the pace of the narrative. It provides tension and…
Allison Maruska 