is not using dialogue tags wrong?

skylessbird2218 said:

I am pretty new to writing. however, I am starting to notice a sort of habit across my writings; I rarely use any dialogue tags at all(neither, said, nor exclaimed, or ejaculated...nothing). most of the time I just use the action the character does, then the dialogue. example, 'he looked up at the sky, "it's going to rain today.'"- well not exactly like that, but mostly. is that bad habit? should I try to introduce more dialogue tags?

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First, that doesn't take a comma, as it's not a tag.

Second, there's not a rule, Whatever works. In general, though obviously I haven't seen any of your thing, I think anything besides a general said-type tag that is overdone gets noticeable. If every line of dialogue is attached to an action line, I'd find that maddening and twitchy, and likely falling into stage direction territory. There's nothing wrong with SOME action lines, but too much of anything that's not basically invisible tends to wear on a reader.

Action beats—that's what you're referring to, by the way—are more than simple replacements for dialogue tags. Action beats can reduce reliance on adverbs, can be used in the middle of dialogue (even in the middle of the sentence) for pacing or to show a thoughtful pause before continuing the sentence. They're best used to further the action in a scene, to add necessary description, or for characterization.

"Said" is mostly invisible and its use is to help your reader to keep speakers straight.

Well, it all depends if it works in your story or not. I don't use a lot of dialogue myself, not because I plan not to but because it just works that way and I'm content about how it plays out. If you could share an excerpt of one of your real stories maybe it's easier to give you feedback on it... but I don't think you should sweat it. If it works, it works.

You don't have enough posts to post something for critique, so I'm not going to go through specifically, but --

You're using a lot of tags, they're just mostly said bookisms, which are the work of the devil.

Also, see my previous post because... that.

skylessbird2218 said:

I am pretty new to writing. however, I am starting to notice a sort of habit across my writings; I rarely use any dialogue tags at all(neither, said, nor exclaimed, or ejaculated...nothing). most of the time I just use the action the character does, then the dialogue. example, 'he looked up at the sky, "it's going to rain today.'"- well not exactly like that, but mostly.

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This is not wrong in and of itself, but if that's what you do most of the time, then you can end up with something that's so choked with these little actions etc. that the pace of the dialogue slows to a crawl.* IOW, a little goes a long way, and it's probably best to mix it up: sometimes action or internals, sometimes "said" or similar, sometimes nothing at all.

*Which is exactly what happened in the excerpt you posted.

As CF said in the first post, there's no rule about how often or how rarely one should use actual tags like "said" etc. to attribute dialog. If the reader always knows who is speaking and the dialog flows as it should, it's all good. It's really, really common for writers to include actions and thoughts/perceptions in paragraphs with dialog, and the general default is the person doing the actions and/or perceptions is the speaker (unless clearly indicated otherwise). Another rule of thumb (again with very occasional exceptions for specific situations) is one speaker per paragraph.

Sometimes, when the speaker is clear, dialog needs no tag or associated action at all.

Most writers utilize a mix of techniques, but how much they go in one direction or other is a stylistic choice. I personally wouldn't go out of my way to eliminate all tags, because sticking unneeded or "extra" actions in to attribute dialog can lead to a lot of extraneous nodding, shrugging etc.

I do suggest you read up on how to tag dialog and how to differentiate between what is an actual dialog tag versus an associated action. As a rule, if it can't be spoken, it's an action and is not treated as a tag in terms of how you punctuate.

For example:

"I don't know," Maria said.

vs

"I don't know." Maria shrugged.

I do read published novels sometimes where the author, and evidently the editor, isn't clear on this rule, because characters are shrugging, frowning, and nodding words (sigh). My understanding, though, is this is technically incorrect and might pull some readers out (it sure pulls me out of a story when I run across it). There are also words that could go either way, so the way you punctuate will let the reader know whether the character, say, growled or sighed out a word versus growled or sighed after or before they spoke.

Tom sighed, "I'm sooooo bored." vs Tom sighed. "I'm soooo bored."

IMO, if you have characters growling, sighing, snarling, and belching (etc.) words too often it becomes distracting to the reader (unless you are shooting for a certain humorous or over the top tone).

Here are some links to a good editor's blog that goes over a bunch of writing-related questions. These are specifically about tagging and punctuating dialog.

https://theeditorsblog.net/2010/12/08/punctuation-in-dialogue/

https://theeditorsblog.net/2010/12/25/use-and-misuse-of-dialogue-tags/

https://theeditorsblog.net/2012/06/29/even-more-punctuation-in-dialogue-a-readers-question/

https://theeditorsblog.net/2013/12/04/another-take-on-dialogue-tags/

https://theeditorsblog.net/2015/03/30/smiling-or-laughing-dialogue-a-readers-question/

The good news, though, is you needn't count how many "saids" you use. Simply read it with a focus on feel and comprehensibility.

Addressing the original question: No, it's not wrong. IMO minimising dialogue tags is preferred. Always try to minimise "said" and it's many family members. Only use them if you have no choice.

And you almost always have a choice.

Well it would depend if the dialogue is meant to be the focus right? If that is the highlight than why distract with an over written tag. Vice versa the line of dialogue can be complimented by a well placed tag.

Some things can be implied by the reader, so maybe writing about looking at the sky, or any repetitive image signals can be skipped.

Less is generally better with dialog tags, and if the reader can figure out who is talking based on context, then you've done your job. (Unless your intent is to leave the reader guessing who is talking.)

As for the "rule" about using only some variant of "said" for a tag, I certainly do not follow that. I'm pretty sure this so-called rule flowed from Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules for Writing but that it was not much of a concern in the centuries of writing done before that. To say that "said" is invisible to the reader as though that is something good is crazy talk to me. Every word on the page should be earning its place, and an "invisible" word seems like a waste. I'm not saying you should throw in all sorts of expressive words in place of "said", but I will say that I read a lot of novels by Pulitzer and Booker Prize winners, and these writers certainly do not adhere to the "said" rule. I've seen "chirped" and "burped" and "moaned" and "whispered" and, yes, "ejaculated" to tag dialog. I just finished a novel by Salman Rusdie in which he has a passage that I'm pretty sure is making deliberate fun of this "rule."

When you think about it, the dialog tag is something that is spoken by your narrator (even in third person). This can be a chance to display some of your narrator's character as well.

I think a lot of our objections to "incorrect" grammar and usage are "acquired distastes." We learned a rule about them -- for example, split infinitives -- and so are sensitized to them and preconditioned to object, when if we didn't know the "rule" we would blithely keep reading without pause. Honestly, I suspect that 99% of readers have never heard of the "said" dialog tag rule and just read on. I think it's only we "educated" types who have a problem.

Personally, said-bookisms tend to distract from dialogue for me. I'd rather notice what your characters are saying than whether they're gasping, bellowing, sobbing, or ejaculating it.

Also, speech tags that are animal sounds put me in mind of animals. So if your characters bark and growl, I picture dogs. If they bleat, I think of sheep. It won't stop me from reading if I'm immersed in the story and everything else works great, but it's likely to put me off otherwise.

I know I'm late to the party here but I just wanted to say I agree with what all the other posters have been saying.

I generally avoid dialogue tags if it's clear who is talking. If I have to use a dialogue tag, I will 98% of the time use "said." I read once somewhere that the word said is so common that it gets blurred out of the reader's mind and they just glaze over it while it still gives them the proper information. If you start using anything other than said, that's when it jumps out. So use other words sparingly and only if you want them to jump out.

There's a weird idea that using dialogue tags other than said is a sign of good writing or non-amateurish writing, and I think the exact opposite is true. Said is invisible, but it tells the reader who is talking. Other dialogue tags are fine in moderation. You shouldn't use tags that represent not-talking. so I wouldn't use "I hate McDonalds," he grinned. I'd use "I hate McDonalds," he said and grinned. Or else "I hate McDonalds," he said through a grin.

Marian Perera said:

Also, speech tags that are animal sounds put me in mind of animals. So if your characters bark and growl, I picture dogs. If they bleat, I think of sheep. It won't stop me from reading if I'm immersed in the story and everything else works great, but it's likely to put me off otherwise.

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Well, exactly. That's metaphor, one of the tools in our toolbox as creative writers. I don't use this excessively, but if I want to suggest that a given character is a mindless sheep, and do it with a punch, I might tag the dialog with a bleat.

And I'll add that I have never, ever, had an editor pause on my occasional use of "rule-breaking" dialog tags or ask that they be changed.

Paul Lamb said:

Well, exactly. That's metaphor, one of the tools in our toolbox as creative writers. I don't use this excessively, but if I want to suggest that a given character is a mindless sheep, and do it with a punch, I might tag the dialog with a bleat.

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I don't usually get the impression the author is doing this deliberately (e.g. trying to make me see the barking character as a Maltese terrier). So even if the author feels these sorts of said-bookisms are metaphors, they don't work for me.

Turns out there are many sites online that provide alternatives to the word "said" for dialog tags. Seems not everyone adheres to this "rule."

Paul Lamb said:

Turns out there are many sites online that provide alternatives to the word "said" for dialog tags. Seems not everyone adheres to this "rule."

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Yeah, hence the term, 'said bookism,' from the books of alternatives.

No one said people don't use them, some of us have said doing so is, at best, ill-advised (outside of MG). They're of the devil. People do many terrible, ill-advised things. To each their own.

Paul Lamb said:

Turns out there are many sites online that provide alternatives to the word "said" for dialog tags. Seems not everyone adheres to this "rule."

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There are many sites online that provide many different things. Not everyone uses correct spelling and punctuation either.