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Dialogue Tags: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly
Dialogue tags: we can’t really have a story without them… but are we using them well? I don’t mean our grammar or punctuation (though this post has some great pointers for that), but rather how we integrate tags in a way that’s smooth, skilful, and doesn’t disrupt the reader. This is, like most things (read: anything) to do with writing, an area in which, surprise surprise, lots of people have opinions. And, of course, it raises a lot of questions. I’ll start with the usual disclaimer: as with a great many other aspects of writing, there’s not strictly a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ way to do most things. (Except using apostrophes…
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Creative Rejection: The Hows, The Whys, The Way Through
One of the greatest battles for any creative—regardless of their medium—is dealing with the rejection inherent in creativity. There are some fields where you can be definitively right or wrong: no matter what, the knee bone really is connected to the shin bone, after all. But creative output and creative value is highly subjective (and I even feel like that’s an understatement). I wish I could tell you that you’re never going to be rejected… But in all likelihood, you will. After all, as The Writing Cooperative notes: ‘For Writers, Rejection is a Way of Life.’ And that’s okay. When Rejection Happens Creative rejection isn’t a given… if you never…
