Nit-picky questions

"First, while ending sentences with prepositions is incorrect grammatically, I assume it is right to allow characters to do so in their dialogue, but correct me if I'm wrong there. [Not much of a question, but you get the idea.]"

Dialog should sound natural, which means that ending with prepositions will often be acceptable (as will sentence fragments and any other host of grammer no-no's.) Proper grammer in speech tends to sound stiff and stilted.

"Second, when implementing an ellipse, is it proper to have a space before and after each period [ . . . ] or is the crunched version acceptable [...] ?"

I do it with three together. A fourth would indicate the speaker trailed off with no intention of continuing.

"Concerning the "he asked" or "she said", is it generally a good idea to omit this whenever possible? Or does including it, but rephrasing it so it is varied make the work more engaging?"

Said is supposedly invisible to the reader, but the advice I've heard is to omit where not needed. As far as rephrasing I assume you mean using something like "she growled," "he whispered," etc. If so, then no--rephrasing it often is frowned upon. 95% of the time you should use "said," "asked," or nothing. The other 5% you can rephrase, but only if needed for effect.

"Last, while I don't feel there is much ruling for this, what is the proper symbol for indicating that a character has been interrupted in dialogue? Is it the hyphen, en dash or em dash? I've seen all of these used in different works, but I was hoping for more clarity on the issue."


I have no idea what's proper, but I use "words..." and then drop to the next line, with dialog from another character. Take that as you will. It may or may not be right.

First, while ending sentences with prepositions is incorrect grammatically

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This is a myth, actually. It's an artifact from Latin translations, but modern English does not have this rule.

And dialogue doesn't 'have' to follow any rules, as long as it's intelligible.

Second, when implementing an ellipse, is it proper to have a space before and after each period [ . . . ] or is the crunched version acceptable [...] ?

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I've seen both, I prefer the squished version. Better yet, replace the ellipsis with something else, since the ellipsis doesn't always communicate anything and can be irritating when used too much.

what is the proper symbol for indicating that a character has been interrupted in dialogue?

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Em dash is the proper symbol for interruptions. So spaketh Wikipedia from Oxford sources.

Blackfire said:

I have a few questions concerning minor aspects of writing. I'm terribly meticulous, so I am bothered by small errors in my own work, especially when I'm not sure of the answer.

First, while ending sentences with prepositions is incorrect grammatically, I assume it is right to allow characters to do so in their dialogue, but correct me if I'm wrong there. [Not much of a question, but you get the idea.]

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This is the kind of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put. (Ending sentences with prepositions isn't grammatically incorrect.)

Blackfire said:

Second, when implementing an ellipse, is it proper to have a space before and after each period [ . . . ] or is the crunched version acceptable [...] ?

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Some style guides suggest using them and some don't. I prefer the latter. Use whichever version you prefer but stay consistent.

Blackfire said:

Concerning the "he asked" or "she said", is it generally a good idea to omit this whenever possible? Or does including it, but rephrasing it so it is varied make the work more engaging?

Last, while I don't feel there is much ruling for this, what is the proper symbol for indicating that a character has been interrupted in dialogue? Is it the hyphen, en dash or em dash? I've seen all of these used in different works, but I was hoping for more clarity on the issue.

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"Should one omit tags whenever possible?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Reba said. "If two (or fewer) people are speaking, you won't always need tags."

"Ah. So if we were in a work of fiction right now, the author could leave this sentence untagged and the reader would know that I'm speaking?"

"Yeah as if anyone would ever fictionalize us. You're so silly."

"What if more than two people are speaking?"

"In that case you could use tags. But instead of 'said' tags, which can become repetitive, you could use dialogue beats. Little gestures and actions that both orient the reader and convey subtext. Like when you just scratched your balls just then--"

"Hey." Sam blushed.

"Sorry. You just interrupted me, by the way. If we go along with your crazy theory that we are really fictional characters, the writer would represent that interruption with an em dash."

"Cool. How about we use synonyms for said instead? Blurted. Hissed. Smiled. Ejaculated."

"Those are called saidisms, and if you use them the Writing Rule Wolves will hunt you down and tear you to shreds. Use them rarely, and don't use ridiculous ones."

Larry barked. "Roorooroo, I'm a talking dog!"

"Okay," Reba said, "this is getting out of control."

It is okay to end a sentence with a preposition.

eliminate tags when possible, but make sure the reader will know who is speaking.


Use an Em dash to show interruption

First, while ending sentences with prepositions is incorrect grammatically, I assume it is right to allow characters to do so in their dialogue, but correct me if I'm wrong there. [Not much of a question, but you get the idea.]

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Well, first off (as others have pointed out), that rule is rarely, if ever, followed in English today. Secondly, you are correct. Dialogue should be as natural as possible, as should internal dialogue. People do not think and speak in grammatically correct English. The dialogue should be as true to the character as you can make it without it being incomprehensible (at which point you should probably rethink the character in question).

Second, when implementing an ellipse, is it proper to have a space before and after each period [ . . . ] or is the crunched version acceptable [...] ?

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Well, that's a style choice that I doubt particularly matters. You can change the style of ellipses rather easily if required to do so. I used the crunched version, though.

Concerning the "he asked" or "she said", is it generally a good idea to omit this whenever possible? Or does including it, but rephrasing it so it is varied make the work more engaging?

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I omit dialogue tags wherever possible. If you can easily figure out which character is speaking without them, why use them? All they do is take up unnecessary space. Plus, repeated unnecessary usage of tags tends to jar me out of a story. Unless you have more than about three characters talking in one scene, I encourage sparse usage.

Last, while I don't feel there is much ruling for this, what is the proper symbol for indicating that a character has been interrupted in dialogue? Is it the hyphen, en dash or em dash? I've seen all of these used in different works, but I was hoping for more clarity on the issue.

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I use an em dash. But that's another formatting choice than can easily be changed if the occasion calls for it. I would just go with whichever one you like best.

Garriga said:

It is okay to end a sentence with use a preposition to end a sentence with.

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caw

Blackfire said:

I have a few questions concerning minor aspects of writing.

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Don't take this as a criticism, because it's not, but as you can probably appreciate the things you've asked are fairly common questions here. A search of the archives will answer an awful lot of questions for you. Nothing wrong with asking questions though.

Welcome, Blackfire.

Being consistent and using common sense is often preferable to getting oneself tied up in knots over trivia. That will only get you buried in hoity-toity nonsense instead of concentrating upon the writing.

You may claim to be meticulous but try also to be observant. Writers are observant.

Read and observe. And remember a dictionary is your friend.

Good luck.

Blackfire said:

I have a few questions concerning minor aspects of writing. I'm terribly meticulous, so I am bothered by small errors in my own work, especially when I'm not sure of the answer.

First, while ending sentences with prepositions is incorrect grammatically, I assume it is right to allow characters to do so in their dialogue, but correct me if I'm wrong there. [Not much of a question, but you get the idea.]

Check some novels on your bookshelf.


Second, when implementing an ellipse, is it proper to have a space before and after each period [ . . . ] or is the crunched version acceptable [...] ?

Again, check your bookshelf.

Concerning the "he asked" or "she said", is it generally a good idea to omit this whenever possible? Or does including it, but rephrasing it so it is varied make the work more engaging? Which do you prefer? Which method do you find more engaging as a reader? Everything is in the execution.

Once again check....'Said' is virtually invisible. The purpose of a dialogue tag is to let the reader know who is speaking if that is not already clear from flow and context.

Last, while I don't feel there is much ruling for this, what is the proper symbol for indicating that a character has been interrupted in dialogue? Is it the hyphen, en dash or em dash? I've seen all of these used in different works, but I was hoping for more clarity on the issue.

Think about it - if several novels have shown different methods then perahaps it is reasonable to assume there is no specific method.

An em-dash is normally used for interruption of dialogue but you won't get shot for using one instead of the other, and the final decision on all these points rests with the individual publisher .



Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

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Blackfire said:

I was told by my English professor that prepositions at the end of sentences are improper, so much so that the editing mark 'prep.' was explained. So I guess that one is a little unclear. Although, I do agree with your statement that there's few rules if any regarding speech.

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English professors are wonderful, but they're teaching you formal writing. Fiction writing is not formal writing.

I hate to be blunt, but you can probably ignore most of what your English professor told you when it comes to fiction.

Thanks for your input, all! There's some discrepancy here in what's right and what's not - which justifies my asking of the questions in the first place. More research is required! -Dives into some grammar books.-

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And grammar books are all well and good, and very useful--you really should pick up a copy of ELEMENT OF STYLE by Strunk & White, if you don't already have one, as it's pretty much the only one you'll need for fiction--but really, again, when learning the rules of fiction writing, your research should be novels, not grammar books.

Pick up any novel on your shelf and you'll find the answers to your questions.

There is always a better way to write a sentence

I've been reading a lot of A. A. Milne lately, and he includes far more "said Pooh"s than are even remotely necessary, (like, three in one sentence,) but it works with the style.
Tag your dialogue however sounds best to you.