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: Your Nov. '08 Bright Ideas Blogzine
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| Issue #4 November 2008 |
HeBlogsSheBlogs.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The woman currently teaching English to Laura's seventh grader won't let him use "said" when attributing quotes. She says "said" is boring and shows "lack of imagination." Problem. We understand where this teacher is coming from; she's teaching 12-year-olds to write with emotion. But any professional writer will tell you to drop the descriptive attributes if you don't want to telegraph that you're an amateur. Remember Tom Swifties? Here's a few to jog your memory:
We chuckle because the attributions and resulting puns are silly. So are many other attributions:
Even if the attribution isn't corny, it distracts from the power of the dialogue. If you feel you need to emphasize what's being said with a descriptive attribution, you probably need to rework your dialogue. Why said? Said is invisible. Your eyes glide right over it, allowing you to focus on the dialogue. In the journalistic and authorial world, said (or says) is the word of choice when attributing quotes. Tell 'em we said so. Once upon a time in a land called America there was a renegade plumber. (No, it wasn't Joe.) Renegade because he decided he would no longer offer the wide range of plumbing services that every other plumber across the U.S. offered. "I'm going to stop being a do-everything plumber, and be a specialist." His plumbing buds said, "You're nuts. You'll never survive doing one and only one plumping service." He replied, "But I'll do it really, really well." They said, "Doesn't matter, you have to do more than one plumbing service, that's what people expect when they call a plumber." He disagreed and went out and started a little company we now know as Roto Rooter. Right now I'm consulting with
two writers who have had success in both fiction and non-fiction. Can
they continue to do both? One of them has chosen to focus her efforts
on fiction. The other wants to continue to do both. Is it possible?
Yes. But it's a much steeper climb.
Essentially she's trying to get
people to think of her as two different brands, or put another way,
she's trying to extend one brand into another. For a deeper look at the
issue take a peek at this article on the law of line extension marketing. So the question is: What is the one thing you want to be known for?
If you were forced to choose what would specialize in? Knowing this, and acting on it, could be the first step toward greater success. If you're trying to decide whether to begin blogging, our recent two-part series will help you work through the pros and cons.
We're sharing the condensed version here; for the full version, visit these posts at HeBlogsSheBlogs.com:
8 Reasons NOT to Blog - http://heblogssheblogs.com/8-reasons-not-to-blog/
10 Good Reasons to Blog - http://heblogssheblogs.com/10-good-reasons-to-blog/
8 Reasons NOT to Blog
10 Good Reasons to Blog
1. To make new friends |
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