Descriptive Tags

Good morning everyone.  It’s a rainy Monday morning here so I’m trying to get myself together for the work week.  I came across something that may interest some of you that are struggling with descriptive tags.  Descriptive dialog tags can bring your characters to life because tags manipulate the language while describing your character. Here's a great site to look at when writing dialog. (See http://www.joannawaugh.com/Craft.html) It’s a webpage maintained by romance writer Joanna Waugh.

Two quick hints about descriptive tags: Dialogue should be natural. Most people use contractions and sentence fragments when they speak. If your characters don't, they may sound stiff. And dialogue is more than spoken words. A lifted eyebrow or forced smile can convey more meaning than a spoken sentence. Non-verbal responses can add nuance or completely change the meaning of spoken words.

Please note there are two common mistakes seen with dialogue tags. The first is being afraid to use said or asked or believing that said or asked becomes repetitive. As a result, characters are constantly shouting, murmuring, whispering, commanding, stating, and mumbling. Why is this considered weak writing? If you feel the need to explain how a character says something then his or her dialogue likely isn’t strong enough. Or, on the other end of the spectrum, if your dialogue is strong enough, then your tag only repeats to the reader what you’ve just shown them.

I’m not saying there isn’t a time or place for non said or asked dialogue tags, only that excessive use is considered weak writing.  Remember the eye tends to pass over “said” or “asked”. We as writers are attuned to words. We pay attention to them. But if you’re doing you job right, the average reader is engrossed in the story and the characters. When said and asked stand out, usually it means the narrative isn’t being woven enough among the dialogue.

I hope this helps.