by Mike Klaassen

Created on: February 16, 2010

Dialogue tags are a subject that gets plenty of attention from fiction writers - even if that attention is directed at eliminating the tags entirely.  Attributions have their drawbacks, but they also create opportunities.  One benefit of dialogue tags that does not get much attention is their usefulness in controlling the rhythm and pace of dialogue. 

Any piece of fiction has a rhythm and pace for the work as a whole.  Furthermore, each scene and each sequel has its own rhythm and pace.  Dialogue may be used as an effective means of managing rhythm and pace within a scene or sequel.  Noah Lukeman, in A Dash of Style, notes that "Dialogue is the great accelerator.  Nothing has its power on pace, whether to speed a text or slow it down."  Each exchange of dialogue has its own rhythm and pace, and attribution tags may be used to manage that rhythm and pace.

Lukeman, in his insightful study of punctuation marks, observes that "Quotation marks are more flexible than most writers assume.  Often they are used in a merely functional way, which is a pity, because they can subtly enhance your writing."

Dialogue tags may appear to be simple, after all, they often consist of only two words ("he said," for example).  In reality, there are important issues involved in the use of attribution clauses, especially as a means of controlling rhythm and pace:

* Obtrusiveness

* Selectivity

* Noun and verb order

* Location of attributions

OBTRUSIVENESS

Elmore Leonard, in his 10 Rules of Writing, says, "The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in,"

Attributions may be so obvious that they nearly jump out at the reader, even to the point of jolting him out of his fictive dream.  Fortunately, most attributions are far less obtrusive.  As noted by Nancy Kress in Writer’s Digest (November 2005), “. . . when used reasonably, readers don’t actually notice dialogue tags; they should blend into the page.”  The ultimate in unobtrusiveness, of course, is the attribution that isn't there - the one omitted because it is perfectly clear who is doing the speaking. 

SELECTIVITY

To use an attribution tag, or not?  The essence of selectivity may be approached from two directions:

* Some writers prefer using no dialogue tags at all.  

* Using no dialogue tags risks making it more difficult for the reader to distinguish who is the speaker.

“The

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