Today, I’m hosting Ryan Lanz, avid blogger over at Ryan Lanz.com and author of The Idea Factory: 1,000 Story Ideas and Writing Prompts to Find Your Next Bestseller. He has some great ideas on dialogue tags I think you’ll enjoy: Writers use dialogue tags constantly. In fact, we use them so often that readers all but gloss over … Continue reading
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’ve done something wrong? Sometimes–maybe even lots of times–there are simple fixes. These writer’s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make … Continue reading
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’ve done something wrong? Sometimes–maybe even lots of times–there are simple fixes. These writer’s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make … Continue reading
When you read your story, does it sound off, maybe you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you know you’ve done something wrong? Sometimes–maybe even lots of times–there are simple fixes. These writer’s tips will come at you once a week, giving you plenty of time to go through your story and make … Continue reading
Think about your favorite books. Now think about why you love them? Without fail, it’s because: The plot was good-to-great. It kept you involved. It wasn’t mundane, ordinary or like other books you’ve read You fell in love with the characters. You got into their heads, you heard their inner thoughts, you found out they … Continue reading
Voice is what makes Winston Churchill’s words as recognizable as his face. Or Rodney Dangerfield one-liner’s his unique take on the world. You wouldn’t confuse the way Erma Brombeck talks with June Cleaver, Continue reading
keep your narrative and dialogue in balance. No one wants to sprint from start to finish in a novel, nor plod through molasses to find out how the crisis is resolved. Pace your writing, just as you pace your life. A little excitement. Take a break, maybe a nap, then get into it again. Continue reading
I don’t necessarily agree with this one, but I’ve read it so often, I feel forced to pass it on.
Stick to “said” and always place the tag after the noun or pronoun. To use anything other than “said” distracts the reader (“said” is invisible). Words such as growled, barked, scoffed tell the reader how the character spoke rather than show it through the dialogue and action. Take the poll. Continue reading
Dialogue speeds the action up. Narration slows action down. Continue reading
Put the exposition, information, and story details into the action and situations, not dialogue Continue reading
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