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Fans of Fiction. Purveyors of Dodgy Writing Advice.
Tips for using dialogue tags and blocking well
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Dialogue needs to tell you more about what the person is saying, feeling, or how the setting is moving/interacting.
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Don’t make dialogue tags empty.
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Everything your character says needs to contribute to the character.
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Strongest dialogue should give you some emotion behind the character. It doesn’t need an adverb after it to show how the character is feeling. No dialogue needs adverbs.
Books and Media We Talked About
The Queen’s Thief Series by Megan Whalen Turner
Smile and Guts by Reyna Telgemeir
Illuminae and Aurora Rising by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
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If you would like a first chapter critique, check out our submission guidelines here
About our Guest
BEN GRANGE has worked all over the publishing industry. He started out at a small publishing company in Salt Lake City and proceeded to do internships at three literary agencies before becoming an assistant at JABberwocky Literary Agency. He now is an agent at the L. Perkins Agency.
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Visit the L. Perkins Agency Website to see what kind of projects Ben is interested in representing or you can follow him on Twitter.
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