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sistergrace

sistergrace


Posts : 555
Join date : 2012-04-22
Location : Devil's Hole

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PostSubject: Punctuation   Punctuation Icon_minitimeFri Sep 15, 2017 2:30 pm

I'm looking for a simple rule of thumb that could be used in determining whether a group of words is a "dialogue tag" or if it is a sentence of narrative, complete on its own, unattached to any spoken line.

I did find one article, (link below) with the most relevant portion being near the end in a section titled "Riddle:  When is a dialogue tag not a dialogue tag?"  The article is rather long, so if someone could direct me to an explanation which is more succinct, I would be appreciative.    

https://www.scribophile.com/academy/he-said-she-said-dialog-tags-and-using-them-effectively

Which do you think is right?

Example One:

"I don't know, Kid."  Hannibal Heyes removed his hat.  "Don't know at all."

or

"I don't know, Kid," Hannibal Heyes removed his hat, "don't know at all."

Example Two:

Kid Curry's Colt jumped to his hand.  "Drop it!"

or

Kid Curry's Colt jumped to his hand, "Drop it!"

I would appreciate your sharing of articles, comments/suggestions/feedback on this, since it can sometimes become unbelievably distracting to me while reading.

Thank you.

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Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.
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Remuda

Remuda


Posts : 136
Join date : 2013-10-27
Age : 48

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PostSubject: Re: Punctuation   Punctuation Icon_minitimeFri Sep 15, 2017 8:18 pm

Grace, I also find this distracting while reading.  I've not read the article at the link, nor do I know of a more succinct summary, but of the two examples you noted, the ones with the dialogue set off by commas are incorrect, IMO.  They go against everything I ever learned.  The clauses set off by the commas in between the pieces of dialogue are complete sentences showing action, not someone speaking, and are therefore not dialogue tags.  They should be punctuated as shown in the examples with the periods.  The only thing that should be in a sentence of two pieces of dialogue set off by commas are the actual dialogue tags, such as "he said" or "she said" (or anything else actually implying speech - asked, exclaimed, etc.).

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sistergrace

sistergrace


Posts : 555
Join date : 2012-04-22
Location : Devil's Hole

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PostSubject: Re: Punctuation   Punctuation Icon_minitimeWed Oct 04, 2017 2:19 pm

Thanks, Remuda.

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PostSubject: Re: Punctuation   Punctuation Icon_minitime

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