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rolanniAll righty, then.
I just read a reader review of a book (not one of ours) in which the reviewer was bitching and moaning about all the said-isms in the book. People never just said anything, the reviewer complained (um, oops), they whispered, murmured, hissed, cried, mumbled, &c -- and everyone knew that was Just Wrong.
Well, I'm going to 'fess up; I didn't know that it was wrong. And I'm going to go one step farther; "said" is an awfully boring word. Oh, it has its uses, and use it I do. But, honestly, if someone has murmured, why not say so? If she mumbles, or stammers at a certain point, that might, yanno, be a Clue. I'd think a whole page of dialogue broken only by "said" would put me right to sleep. Granted, I could be in a minority here.
So, I have some questions.
The first is, where do you learn that "said-isms" are "wrong?" and how come I never got the memo?
The second is, what are your feelings about "said-isms":
[Poll #1222698]
or -- feel free to discuss in comments.
I just read a reader review of a book (not one of ours) in which the reviewer was bitching and moaning about all the said-isms in the book. People never just said anything, the reviewer complained (um, oops), they whispered, murmured, hissed, cried, mumbled, &c -- and everyone knew that was Just Wrong.
Well, I'm going to 'fess up; I didn't know that it was wrong. And I'm going to go one step farther; "said" is an awfully boring word. Oh, it has its uses, and use it I do. But, honestly, if someone has murmured, why not say so? If she mumbles, or stammers at a certain point, that might, yanno, be a Clue. I'd think a whole page of dialogue broken only by "said" would put me right to sleep. Granted, I could be in a minority here.
So, I have some questions.
The first is, where do you learn that "said-isms" are "wrong?" and how come I never got the memo?
The second is, what are your feelings about "said-isms":
[Poll #1222698]
or -- feel free to discuss in comments.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 08:54 pm (UTC)My feeling is that if they accurately reflect how the character is talking, and aren't overused, they're fine. When they become obtrusive, then they're a problem. I've never consciously noticed yours, so you must be doing it right.
I voted "okay" because "it depends" wasn't one of the choices. :)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 08:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 09:48 pm (UTC)