Month: June 2021

THE WRITER’S GRAPEVINE SIZZLING SUMMER JUNE JULY JAMBOREE EDITION #WordPressWednesday

Thanks to fellow blogger Patty Fletcher for publishing my work in her wonderful magazine. You’ll also find plenty of work by other authors plus advertisements and more. Enjoy!

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Hello everyone, and welcome to another Incredible edition of the Writer’s Grapevine.

How do I know it’s Incredible? Because it’s filled with “Incredible” contributors. But the proof is as they say… “In the pudding.” Or, in this case, on the page. So, grab your favorite drink, snuggle down into your most comfortable reading nest, and ready yourself for some great discoveries.

Read the full magazine here.

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New! The Red Dress

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On Dialogue #OpenBook BlogHop

Welcome to another edition of Open Book Blog Hop. This week’s question is: “Do you use said or asked after a ? (quotation mark) or tag your interruptions? Any punctuation that bugs you? What’s the hardest for you to get right?”

What a coincidence this topic should come up now. I recently read Crafting Dynamic Dialogue, edited by Cheryl St. John, which I reviewed here. In this book, several fiction authors provide great advice on writing dialogue, some of which I already put into practice.

First of all, I try not to use elaborate dialogue tags such as “he announced” or “she proclaimed.” These distract the reader from what’s being said. It’s better to stick with “said,” “answered,” or asked” and let dialogue speak for itself. Unless there may be some confusion as to who is speaking, I don’t tag interruptions because that disrupts the story’s flow.

That having been said, there are times when it’s better to use a stronger verb than an adverb in dialogue tags. For example, instead of “I hate you!” my teenaged daughter said loudly before dashing upstairs and slamming the door to her room, I would write “I hate you!” my teenaged daughter yelled before dashing upstairs and slamming the door to her room.

I don’t have trouble with punctuation. So, let me share one more thing I’ve learned about dialog tags. It’s more natural to place the person’s name or a pronoun before the verb. Take this passage from The Red Dress.

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“Oh, look at this!” said Charlene.

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I should have written this.

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“Oh, look at this!” Charlene said.

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I’m not about to republish my novels just so I can correct dialogue tags. But I plan to incorporate tips I’ve learned in my future work.

How about you? Do you like elaborate dialogue tags, or, like me, do you think they’re unnecessary? How do you feel about the use of adverbs and the placement of names or pronouns and verbs in dialog tags? I look forward to reading your answers in the comment field. If you’re a blogger and would like to participate in this week’s hop, click here.

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New! The Red Dress

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My Wedding Dress #SocialMediaMonday

Thanks to fellow blogger Ernest Dempsey for publishing this work of creative nonfiction. I wrote it several years ago during a memoir-writing workshop, where we were prompted to write about a particular article of clothing. Another workshop participant wrote and shared the story that inspired The Red Dress but I digress. If, after reading my story on Ernest’s blog, you’d like to know more about my wedding, I suggest you read My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds. Enjoy!

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It was a mauve color. Reaching to my ankles, it had long sleeves and a low neckline. Kathleen, my sister-in-law, bought it for me as a birthday present the year my late husband Bill and I were married.

Read the rest here.

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New! The Red Dress

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