If you’re in the Richmond area, I’ll be speaking at the James River Writers Conference this week on dialogue.
I’ll be participating in a panel called “Putting Words in My Mouth: Dialing Up the Dialogue” with fellow writers Frankie Bailey, Jonathan Miles and Irene Ziegler.
My personal rule of thumb is to keep it simple. Always use “she said” or “he said.”
Use “-ly” adverbs sparingly.
Forget about using quirky or different verbs for “said” like “she announced” or “he trilled.” Just keep it simple.
Try to avoid the present tense “I say.” I used to do that all the time until a teacher said it just sounds weird. “Who says ‘I say’? That’s just ridiculous,” he said.
The conference is currently sold-out, but call if interested in the waiting list.
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