Memed from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
clocketpatch:
Roughly: Analyse some of your old fic, and some of your recent fic,
to see how much dialogue is indicated by various tags ('said', 'yelled'
etc.) and how much is indicated by context or other cues.
| - | 7 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| said | 4 | ▒▒▒▒ |
| replied | 3 | ▒▒▒ |
| added | 1 | ▒ |
| began | 1 | ▒ |
| called | 1 | ▒ |
| mumbled | 1 | ▒ |
Amusingly, all the instances of 'said' are for speeches by Izzy; the other characters
use only said-bookisms or context.
| - | 130 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| said | 61 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| asked | 24 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| replied | 8 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| began | 5 | ▒▒▒▒▒ |
| continued | 4 | ▒▒▒▒ |
| added | 3 | ▒▒▒ |
| called | 3 | ▒▒▒ |
| concluded | 2 | ▒▒ |
| gasped | 2 | ▒▒ |
| agreed | 1 | ▒ |
| broke in | 1 | ▒ |
| compromised | 1 | ▒ |
| dictated | 1 | ▒ |
| explained | 1 | ▒ |
| managed | 1 | ▒ |
| muttered | 1 | ▒ |
| persisted | 1 | ▒ |
| shouted | 1 | ▒ |
| resumed | 1 | ▒ |
| wailed | 1 | ▒ |
| whispered | 1 | ▒ |
| - | 131 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| said | 52 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| asked | 18 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| replied | 6 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| began | 3 | ▒▒▒ |
| added | 2 | ▒▒ |
| protested | 2 | ▒▒ |
| suggested | 2 | ▒▒ |
| admitted | 1 | ▒ |
| broke in | 1 | ▒ |
| called | 1 | ▒ |
| complained | 1 | ▒ |
| continued | 1 | ▒ |
| demanded | 1 | ▒ |
| gasped | 1 | ▒ |
| grumbled | 1 | ▒ |
| murmured | 1 | ▒ |
| muttered | 1 | ▒ |
| pointed out | 1 | ▒ |
| reflected | 1 | ▒ |
| remarked | 1 | ▒ |
| retorted | 1 | ▒ |
| shouted | 1 | ▒ |
| snapped | 1 | ▒ |
| whispered | 1 | ▒ |
| - | 10 | ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ |
| asked | 3 | ▒▒▒ |
| said | 3 | ▒▒▒ |
| began | 2 | ▒▒ |
| managed | 1 | ▒ |
Thoughts
- The short fics aren't too useful here because they don't provide enough
data to smooth out local variations. On the plus side, it's a lot easier to
count the lines of speech.
- My preferences don't seem to have changed much: in both the 2008 fic and
the 2013, over 50% of speech is tagged by context, 24% by 'said'. The top
five (none, said, asked, replied, began) both sum to 90%, give or take a percentage point.
- If I'm writing a two-handed dialogue and the characters aren't actually
completely immobile, I try to get away without using dialogue tags at all.
If, on the other hand, Jamie's Angels are having one of their usual six-way
arguments while handcuffed to a maypole, they're going to need all the
said-book-isms they can get.
- I haven't had a character ejaculate once, not even a Dalek. Most remiss
of me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
john_amend_all
