"Said" is not as awesome as you think it is.

[desuvan]

Okay, I've seen this around way too many times, and I am utterly sick of it.

This

I don't have a problem with the whole list. There's some good stuff there. But, believe you me, it has problems.

Now, while I have an issue, as a reader, with #2 (Never use prologues, he says. I like reading prologues, I say.), the issue I have the biggest problem with

Comments

[anonymous]

This reminds me of something I once told you when we were specifically discussing dialogue. I had mentioned that, when involved in a heavy dialogue scenerio, I HATE!!!! when authors muddy it up with excessive unnecessary descriptions. Anytime I encounter, "Beatrice said, her voice pitched too low for any but Hero to hear, 'Who is that tart with the King?'", I go into "auto-skim" mode. I'm so wrapped up in the exchange that I instantly begin skimming the descriptive text. So I completely agree with your point. Keep it short and efficient.

[valarltd]

I tend to encounter just the opposite problem: Fear of Said.
Everyone enunciates, ejaculates, insinuates, bites off, thin-smiles or quips. No one ever says anything at all.

The Elmore Leonard rules are fine if you want to write like Elmore Leonard, which is to say like a Hemmingway clone.

[mariadkins]

i managed to read a whopping two pages of Twilight without committing suicide* and don't recall seeing one instance of "said" anywhere.

*i had only read two paragraphs previously and was looking for something to prove something to someone at the time of said two-page reading.

[thunderpigeon]

I think that's why the author of these rules put in 2 rules about "said bookisms." But desuvan is right; they are seriously overreacting. Generally, I would say that any rule that starts with "Never" is an overreaction, unless it involves rape, murder, incest, or cannibalism.

I think the rule here ought to be "Don't look for another word if 'said' does the job." That way, if it's important to let the reader know that someone is shouting, whispering, gasping, wailing, keeining, hissing, grunting, stammering, raving, babbling, enunciating, lisping, groaning, or otherwise inflecting his or her speech, then the author has leave to do so, but if "said" is all you need to say, then the rule is there to remind the writer not to go looking for a flowery synonym every time.

[valarltd]

I can understand a real world rule about the actions, but I would hesitate to use "never" in regard to writing about the items you listed.

Otherwise, I lose a great line in my current WiP: "Amazing how much more compliant the governor became after I raped, killed and ate his wife." Nick gave a wicked half-smile. "Not in that order."
(Nick is a practicing psychopath, cannibal and political consultant)

[popfiend]

This is awesome.

Thank you.

[katmoonshaker]

Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy reading your writing? I hadn't seen these rules floating about but I have certainly encountered the rules before. Herewith is my long held opinion about the "said" business.

As a long time and voracious reader I have to say that, it depends. It has always depended. It depends on the style of writing, the scene mood, the situation at hand; I could go on and on. What I have always said to anyone who has asked me is this, "Say it out loud." If I read something out loud, either to myself or to someone else, and it sounds stifled then it doesn't work. And here I must confess, I read with inflection, with each character having a different voice, as I was taught by my mother and grandmother. I also 'read out loud' in my head as I read. So trust me, if it doesn't 'read right', it doesn't 'sound right'.

And get a thesaurus. Good grief.

[mariadkins]

what i can't stand are long strings of unattributed dialogue. i've seen these go on for a page, sometimes two. when this happens after three exchanges, i get lost and have to go back and count to see who said what and why. i've been told other readers don't have problems with this. maybe it's just me. i have no idea. i do know that it's aggravating.

by the way, i like using "said", but like you said sometimes Character must blurt, shout, whisper, or choke on her words!