Conversations in quotes

[catimann]

How to write it right.
I have two people conversing and as usual it goes back and forth.

He said "This". She replied "That". "To bad" he said. etc. etc.

All conversations are one person and then the other, in most cases. Can one start out as above and then jsut let the conversation go but leave out the He said, she said stuff? Seems like so much fluff to write.

Thanks

 

[slyc_willie]

Absolutely. Dialogue tags are never always necessary. If it's clear that two people are talking, you start off with tags but then let the conversation flow.

"Hey, Jimmy, what are you up to?" Dan asked.

Jimmy sighed. "Not much," he said. "Just finishing up some paperwork."

"Well, I know a couple of honeys who are hot to trot. What say we meet them at Hooligans?"

"It's not those same two bimbos you picked up last time, is it?"

"No, these are totally different bimbos."

"Okay, what the hell. I'm in."

It's pretty obvious who was speaking and when. Dialogue tags become a little more necessary when you have three or more people talking, but if you can identify the speakers through the way they talk, that makes it easier for readers to follow the conversation.

 

[catimann]

I love where thats going, thanks.

 

[emap]

Another handy tip is to have the person's name in the next bit of conversation. So you end up with something like this.

"I always wanted to watch you get fucked hard and fast by some black guy."

"Holy fuck Jim, you talked me into swinging last week."

See, this way you know who said the first part, now the second person is a mystery, unless he says something back and says her name. This isn't used often because most people don't call each other by name very often. It does come up when you got a crowd however, and then a husband and wife when one is being a complete ass or something.

If you have three or more people talking you still don't need to use the tags after the first ones so long as it keeps going like that. So if say two guys and a girl are talking about double teaming her and it is first guy, second guy, girl, then girl interupts you redo the tags or have a name in what is said at least twice. Can still be confusing however so pay attention to what is said.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Once you get past two people in a conversation it gets tricky. I'm currently working on a piece that has at lease eight people talking, sometimes at the same exact time, so tags are essential.

 

[RichardBacula]

How to write it right.
I have two people conversing and as usual it goes back and forth.

He said "This". She replied "That". "To bad" he said. etc. etc.

All conversations are one person and then the other, in most cases. Can one start out as above and then jsut let the conversation go but leave out the He said, she said stuff? Seems like so much fluff to write.

Thanks

I'd say that yes, that's perfectly acceptable.
I try not to let it go more than just a few lines without some indicator of who's talking, though. Rather than use standard dialogue tags, I tend to just describe something about the character, about what they're doing and/or thinking.
So instead of:
"This!" Jim said.
"That!" Susan rebutted.
"This, because thingy."
"No, you asshat! That, because blah, blah!"
"This, this this!"
"That, that, that!"

I'd go with something more like:
"This!" Jim was trying to be helpful, trying to point out something that he thought was obvious, but that Susan needed to know.
"That!" She wasn't having any of it. Jim's condescension was starting to grate on her.
"This, because thingy." Jim took another swig of beer, drawing out his argument so that Susan would have time to really absorb what he was saying.
"No, you asshat! That, because blah, blah!" One of the things she really, really hated was being ignored. The way that Jim would just keep talking as if she hadn't said anything was putting her into a rage.
"This, this this!" He really had no idea why she was being this stubborn, when all he was trying to do was to help her. Could she really be THAT stupid?
"That, that, that!" Susan smiled, a dark red smile of pure hate. She picked up the knife, and walked toward him.

Some of the description could be skipped, depending on the dialogue and story being told, of course. the point is to get away from the "he said" "she said" nonsense, which seems to be part of what you're trying to accomplish.

Of course, another way I might handle it is to skip the dialogue entirely, and just go with:
Jim kept trying to explain it to her, in that infuriating, condescending way he had. Susan should have let things drop, but she was tired of having Jim just run right over her with his opinions, ignoring everything she said. The conversation turned into an argument, which slowly escalated until Susan lost it, her mind turning red with rage. She picked up the knife, and walked toward Jim.

 

[oggbashan]

How to write it right.
I have two people conversing and as usual it goes back and forth.

He said "This". She replied "That". "To bad" he said. etc. etc.

All conversations are one person and then the other, in most cases. Can one start out as above and then jsut let the conversation go but leave out the He said, she said stuff? Seems like so much fluff to write.

Thanks

You can leave out the tags but put each person on a separate line with a double carriage return, like this:

"This". He said.

"That". She replied.

"Too bad" he said.

etc. etc.

Longer speeches would be better:

"This is impossible, Jane," he said.

"No it isn't, George," she replied, "you don't love your wife. You do love me."

"But..."

"There are no buts."

 

[RoyceConnors]

Once you get past two people in a conversation it gets tricky. I'm currently working on a piece that has at lease eight people talking, sometimes at the same exact time, so tags are essential.

I worked out how to avoid tags with multiple people and it comes back to name usage during the convo. If there's a change, I break up the dialogue with a couple of sentences in between and play it out.

I hate descriptors in dialogue and find them a waste to type.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I worked out how to avoid tags with multiple people and it comes back to name usage during the convo. If there's a change, I break up the dialogue with a couple of sentences in between and play it out.

I hate descriptors in dialogue and find them a waste to type.

I too, do not use them on each and every spoken sentence, but after awhile, say two to three word pages, you do need to place one or two to remind the reader who is speaking. Either that or provide them with a character sheet.

 

[Weird Harold]

Can still be confusing however so pay attention to what is said.

Clearing up the confusion in multi-sided conversations is sometimes not even necessary. Sometimes it doesn't matter who said something, and sometimes it is useful to convey a character's confusion about who said what but leaving the reader a bit confused.

Whether and how much to tag dialogue is mostly a matter of style. As long as the effect/mood the author desires is created, the dialogue is well written.

One other point: If you wonder whether your dialogue has too many tags or not enough tags, you're probably right. If you have the right amount of tagging, you won't notice a problem.

 

[sr71plt]

Sometimes it doesn't matter who said something, and sometimes it is useful to convey a character's confusion about who said what but leaving the reader a bit confused.

Sometimes, but not nearly as often as it's encountered.

 

[HeyAll]

I leave out the tags once it becomes clear who's talking. But of course you have to bring it back to remind the readers, and to show what the descriptions are.

"Hey," she smiled.

He smiled back. "Hey there little lady."

"How are you doing today?"

"Not bad."

She nodded. "Good to hear. You're working pretty hard."

"I know," he replied. "It's been a busy week."

"I can tell."

 

[StrangeLife]

I have seen "ejaculate" used in dialogue - as in:


"Mr. Obermayer!" he ejaculated.


I wouldn't use this particular form in an erotic story though...