Quote:
Originally Posted by BookCat
Yes, it's jumping from one extreme to another.
But even Rowling, in her (commercially) very successful books used many alternatives to 'said'.
“I WANT MY LETTER!” he shouted.
“Let me see it!” demanded Dudley.
“OUT!” roared Uncle Vernon
If each of these statements had been followed by "he said" "said Dudley" and "said Uncle Vernon" something would have been lost, some drama.
I deliberately chose a successful, fairly recent novel, as opposed to a classic. In Victorian literature even slow beginnings and long descriptive passages were tolerated. But then their attention span hadn't been shortened by television and the internet.
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Excellent examples. Not only would something have been lost, the incongruity would have jarred. These things were obviously not just "said".