Of Good Report--February 2004--Page Three

Of Good Report
February 2004
Page Three

Writing 101

He said. She said.

by Joan Sowards

Gary Provost, in his book Make your Words Work, wrote, "When you quote a person, don't slow the pace by taking time to describe the quote as having been 'exclaimed' or 'uttered' or 'opined'." It slows the dialogue and "there is no reader resistance to the simple work 'said'."

Said is one of the few invisible words of the English language and cannot be overused. Using anything else can be distracting. Even when your character is asking a question, it is appripriate to say "she said" in place of "she asked". "Are you leaving or not?" she said.

Provost admits that there are times when you will get some added meaning from "exclaimed" or "announced," but generally the quote should contain its own tone of voice.

Next month: What about commas?

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