Dialogue is, in my opinion, one of the largest factors to making a good story. A story can be amazing, but if the dialogue doesn't flow well, then it just kills the flow of a book. It's trips up readers and sends them reeling back into reality, stumbling over your words. One of the things that can really make or break your dialogue flow are dialogue tags.
"What are dialogue tags?" the man asked. Well, they're exactly that. Words like, 'said, responded, asked, yelled, retorted, argued, whispered.' They help clarify who and how people speak. However, sometimes they can do the opposite. If you overdo you tags, perhaps using complex tags or an abundance of adverbs, it can weigh down the sentence, turning a simple sentence into an over dramatized and over complicated ordeal. If you're confused on how good and detailed tags could be bad for your dialogue, here's a little example.
"Hello, Miranda," The man said with a dry tone.
"Hello, Robert," Miranda retorted, taking a seat across from him.
"Been awhile, hasn't it?" Robert inquired, giving a stone cold smile.
"I suppose so. A good, long while." Miranda said with a hint of malice.
"Yes, very good," Robert said back with equal sarcasm.
You kinda see what I mean now? It's such a short conversation, but it seems so jumbled and clustered that you almost pay more attention to how they're saying things rather than what they're actually saying. A lot of times you can cut out those messy tags and let the readers naturally infer how they're saying things based off what they're saying and how they respond.
"Hello, Miranda."
"Hello, Robert," the woman responded, taking a seat across from him.
"It's been awhile, hasn't it?" Robert asked.
"I suppose so. A good, long while."
"Yes, very good."
Although it's slightly less descriptive, you can still get a feel for the tone of the conversation and get a general feeling for how they're talking. Anyway guys, I hoped you learned a little something about creating dialogue, and until next time, peace.
-Ink
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