Most Common Writing Errors ✔️

MOST COMMON: Dialogue + Dialogue Tags

When you're using dialogue tags, you cannot end the dialogue with a period. Unless, of course, the tag is before the dialogue.

Example:

She said, "I'm here."

Most authors put the dialogue tags after the dialogue. I tend to lean more toward tags after the dialogue since tags don't do anything except tell you who is speaking, so it's less distracting when it's in the back, in my opinion. But there's nothing wrong with doing them in the front either.

So, let's summarize:

- Dialogue tags are before or after the dialogue, but most commonly, after

- If you are using a tag, the dialogue cannot end in a period unless the tag comes first (She said, "Hey.")

- Dialogue tags must be lowercase unless they are a proper noun or start the sentence

- Even if the end punctuation is not a comma, the tag must be lowercase unless it is a proper noun or it starts the sentence

Some examples:

She said, "I made it back from Orlando."

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"It's good to see you," John said.

"I miss you," she said.

Fancy Tags:

Dialogue tags are not supposed to be fancy. Their purpose is to tell you who is speaking. One of the publishers I am working with hates dialogue tags and wants as few of them as possible. Honestly, I agree.

A few examples of the ones I consider fancier:

- Inquired

- Whimpered

- Denied

- Confessed/Admitted

- Argued

- Answered

Essentially, ones that aren't said or asked.

My father is a writer, and I'll never forget the advice he gave me. He called it the 50-30 "rule."

He told me that at most, 50% of your dialogue should have tags, and at least 30% of that 50% should be said or asked. Now, this is just a guideline and not a rule, that's why I put rule in quotations, but in my opinion, that's good advice.

I'm normally not someone who is brutal about things, so I apologize if any of this comes off as rude. What I'm about to say next is not meant to be mean or an insult:

If you use too many dialogue tags, especially the fancier ones, the odds are, you aren't doing your job right.

As a writer, your job is to show the audience your story, not tell them. In my past writing class, we called this the 2 + 2 = 4 equation of writing.

2 + 2 is an easy, simple equation. Everyone knows the answer is 4. Writing is like that. Even if the answer is simple, you shouldn't just give the audience 4. Give them 2 + 2: make them work to find 4 instead of just handing it to them.

Let's say you have a character who feels insecure.

2 + 2 would be showing the audience the character feels insecure.

4 would be saying something like "He feels insecure."

The 2 + 2 is showing while the 4 is telling. If you choose to give the audience 4, you are telling. If you give the audience 2 + 2, you are showing.