She said “It’s ok.”

Aug 27, 2012 by Lona

I recently read a manuscript in which the author never once used the words “he said” or “she said.” She was very proud of this fact, and asked me if she’d done it right.

Well, yes, she did. But it made for very difficult reading. Flat attributions are expected by the mind and the eye and while there are many ways to avoid saying that someone said something, it makes it very difficult in many situations. Also, verbose.

His eyes focused on her. “I don’t understand.”

She met his gaze with one of her own. “It’s very simple. Only a moron wouldn’t understand this. Are you a moron?!”

A narrowed glare met her at the accusation. “When you get insulting, I start to wonder why I even speak to you.”

Imagine an entire book of this, without any direct attributions, no clear concise words. It gets lengthier the farther you read, as the author struggles to avoid the simple statement of “he said” and even more if the author avoids all flat attributions, such as “he looked,” “she walked,” “they laughed.” Yes, that is telling and not showing, but there are times for each. Your high school and college writing teachers steered you wrong, my friend.

And when I read a book like this…I wince.