"He said, unequivocally."
After reading through some 80 plus pages of
@coz1's brilliant
War of the Roses AAR, I posted a mildly humourous critique touching on elements of character development and the use of dialogue tags, or descriptors.
Which got me to thinking (and a not so subtle push from
@Rensslaer and
@coz1) about the
SolAARium. Dialogue tags were discussed way back in the early days of this thread, though I saw no reason the topic couldn't be revisited.
There are two schools of thought regarding descriptors. Essentially it boils down to
'said' vs 'speech tags'. A quick Google search will reveal a hockey-sock full of discussion on the topic. At the end of the day, though, I believe the writer should use what they feel most comfortable with. In my case, I tend to use dialogue tags when writing fantasy, horror and historical fiction, and 'said' with YA, SF and modern settings.
Circling back to
@coz1's
War of the Roses, his use of dialogue coupled with an action descriptor works really well. His use of
'said' is virtually non-existent.
So, I'm curious what you writAARs prefer, assuming you have a preference at all.
Below is my post from
@coz1's AAR. For shits and giggles, you may notice something unique about the post, considering the
'said' vs 'speech tag' topic. Also, there's a couple of Easter Eggs in it. Both have to do with names, though the more obscure one goes back to the
Free Company days. There's a virtual case of beer waiting...
-------------------------------------------------
"Good morning, class."
"Good morning, Mr. York."
"Today we shall discuss 'The War of the Roses'. I trust every one has completed this assignment up to the present? Er, what are you doing, Amos?"
"I'm giving nods, Mr. York."
"Yes, well, that's quite enough nods for the day. Don't hurt yourself. Naomi, what--?"
"I'm standing tall, Mr. York."
"Ah. Well, please sit down. Good girl. OK. Actually, this is as good a place to start as any. It goes without saying this work is dialogue-heavy, as well as a little light on description. However, the author has turned a neat trick to keep the reader engaged. How is that? Anyone? Alex?"
"The author uses action descriptors to frame the dialogue, like 'giving nods' 'showing grins' and 'standing tall'".
"Very good. The use of these dialogue tags take what could be a dry reading and inject life through action and motion, helping shape a character's persona. Is there anything else that stood out from the use of these descriptors? Naomi?"
"'Said', Mr. York. The author never used the word 'said'. If he did, I don't recall seeing it."
"Good catch, Naomi. Whether that was by design or not, only the author can answer. There's a school of thought that leans toward the word 'said' as the only tag one should use, as its commonality makes the word invisible so a reader can focus on the dialogue itself. However, in this case the use of action coupled with dialogue works very well in a medieval setting. The author's word choice definitely gives the story an old English feel. Now, about the characters themselves. Any thoughts? Bobbie?"
"Margaret of Anjou is a narcissist. She's also an idiot. She only cares for herself and her needs, to the detriment of all else. And as Queen, that means to the detriment of the country. Kind of reminds me of our Prime Minister. But I digress. I thought the author did a marvellous job creating differing characters and infusing them with unique and consistent personalities. I was emotionally engaged with Margaret to the point I wanted to strangle her on more than one occasion. Kudos to the author for that. And don't get me started on Richard."
"Well, seeing you're on a roll, why not?"
"There's not much different between Margaret and Richard. He may not have narcissistic tendencies, but he's obstinate and single minded. England has just come out of a civil war. The country needs time to heal, but there's Richard, right back in the thick of it, England be damned; the people be damned; the treasury be damned. The only one with any sense at the moment is Warwick, surprisingly enough. His character has actually matured over the years, from brash to thoughtful. Again, kudos to the author."
"Interesting breakdown, Bobbie. Anyone else? Amos?"
"But war is fun."
"Thank you, Amos. How about you, Bueller. Anything to add? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller--?"
"Bueller's not in today, Mr. York. Off sick, apparently."
"Thank you, Camina. OK. Good job, class. As you can see, The War of the Roses is a consistently enthralling work. In the meantime, until our next session, I want you all to read 'Book IV: The Free Company and the Last Bastion of Empire', a story of the fall of Constantinople. That's it for today, class."