Quote:
Originally Posted by 4691mls
If you are going to write a back-and-forth conversation between characters that goes on for a couple of pages or more, please throw in an occasional name - such as "said Bob" or "Jane exclaimed" - so I can keep track of who's saying what.
Maybe I'm just getting old, but I need a clue every now and then  |
I would say that dialogue spanning multiple pages without let up probably has more problems than simple lack of attributions. (
I will admit, slightly nervously after seeing what Hitch said about experimental fiction, to writing one short story that was all dialogue, no attribution or any other aside at all, as an experiment, just to see if I could do it and make it work. I thought it did work, as a short, but I wouldn't like to try it for a whole novel.)
I tend to find most annoyances when I'm reading go the other way - too many unnecessary attributions. I might get lost occasionally, but it seems to me to be the less common sin.
Whichever problem it is, getting it right takes practice, and help.