Odds and Ends about Writing

Dialogue Part Two

This one is more of a "please don't overdo it" sort of thing. 

Sometimes, we think "said" is... well, boring*. So we either eliminate it entirely, or we replace it. Both methods have their pros and cons, and well, I think you need a nice balance of all three for your dialogue. But today, I want to caution against using too many descriptive dialogue tags.

"Oh really?" smirked the smart-alec example character. "There's absolutely no proof of that."

"You tell the author that she's wrong," character B cheered. 

"You have nice eyes," character C hinted at B's chest. 

You get the idea. It's clunky in great quantities. And possibly physically impossible. I've never seen someone smirk and talk at the same time, and my brain tends to go on the fritz when I see this. 

I'm not saying that this is bad. "In small quantities," Character B murmured, her eyes on the ground, "it may be a good idea. Just don't overdo it"

Oh, and if you're planning to write dialogue and then action, then you should close the dialogue with a full stop, not a comma.

"Like this." He drew a circle in the air and filled it in. 

*Although I have heard that "said" blends into the background the most, and is hence the most unobtrusive dialogue tag. I can't remember where I heard it, or if it's true though.