"said Podunk coach Joe Jones" vs. "Podunk coach Joe Jones said"

[Rhody31]

For a second I thought you were going to tell him to use "exclaimed" or "opined" instead and I was going to cut you in your face.

That ship used to drive me bananas.
Best explanation I read was always use said because after a while, the reader stops reading the word and starts focusing more on the quote, or something like that.

 

[apeman33]

Personally, I find that this format (the one the last three posters liked) ...

"This is the proudest moment of my high school career," Podunk Township quarterback Frank Martin said ...

is clunky. It doesn't feel conversational.

I feel the opposite, that "said Xxxxx" is clunky and "Xxxx said" is conversational.

 

[Riptide]

Action verbs sometimes help ...

"They got hosed!" Kiffin ejaculated.

 

[Dick Whitman]

For a second I thought you were going to tell him to use "exclaimed" or "opined" instead and I was going to cut you in your face.

As I said on another thread this week, I keep coming back here because it makes me laugh out loud at least once a day.

 

[JohnHammond]

That ship used to drive me bananas.

Paxil works great.

 

[Ace]

Sometimes, if I have a long quote then introduce a new speaker real fast without wanting to make up some kind of half-ashed transition, I will do this:

"I've always said that if Ivanka weren't my daughter, I'd be dating her," Trump said. "I mean, look at her."
Said Starman: "See. Trump wants to HAVE SEX WITH HIS DAUGHTER!"

 

[Riptide]

Sometimes, if I have a long quote then introduce a new speaker real fast without wanting to make up some kind of half-ashed transition, I will do this:

"I've always said that if Ivanka weren't my daughter, I'd be dating her," Trump said. "I mean, look at her."
Said Starman said: "See. Trump wants to HAVE SEX WITH HIS DAUGHTER!"

Fixed that for you.

 

[Ace]

Fixed that for you.

See, I would put "said so-and-so" in the rare cases the identification comes in front of the quote.

 

[Riptide]

See, I would put "said so-and-so" in the rare cases the identification comes in front of the quote.

Blue font, sorry!

 

[Ace]

Blue font, sorry!

darn editors!

 

[Dog8Cats]

I feel the opposite, that "said Xxxxx" is clunky and "Xxxx said" is conversational.

I agree with all of this, but, like Ace's Trump/daughter thing shows, I think there's a time and place for less-conversational usage. (And that's why I liked it, not for prurient reasons.)

My boilerplate line when someone would argue about a suggested change to copy that was slightly less conversational: If we want to use solely conversational language, think about a baseball story ... no more bullpen, mound, fastball ... pen, bump, heater.

I, for one, don't want to read that stuff. Our writing shouldn't read like a SQL manual, but it shouldn't read like Beavis and Butt-head, either .

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

I've done the same thing as with Ace's example.

We're always taught to write in active voice. I've always thought "xxxx said" is written in active voice, and "said xxxx" is pashive.