Style question for the old-timers

[Dan Rydell]

Silvercharm gets it right.

Always say "said."

Work everything else into it. It's not that hard.

And always remember that there are rules that dictate why we apply style, and if you ain't applying style, you're ignoring what language and syntax are all about.

Polished writing still works the best. The challenge is to see how well you can polish your words.

You can always write better if you always look for ways to write better. It's a never-ending challenge. And you'll be surprised at how much better you get.

 

[Tom Petty]

thin-clad harrier ... who woulda thunk?

thanks guys.

 

[slappy4428]

Now what if you're doing a story with Boris Said quotes?

Your favorite ex-Beatles song?

"Say say say," said Said.

But would it be "Said said" or "said Said"?

 

[Tom Petty]

looks more like gay, gay, gay, although there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[Taylee]

For instance, after a local team neededn 11-point rally in the final minutes to win the game, I asked the coach about the comeback. The quote read, :"That's a pretty good gameplan, huh," Coach joked. Perhaps the sarcasm is implied, I don't know. but I always felt adding "joked" helps. Like someone said earlier, it's not so bad to do it in extreme moderation.

Why not use Coach said, jokingly.
Our rule is "said." If you are interviewing two people at once such as after a game. One person says something, followed by the other without another question being asked, then it's OK to use "Coach added" because he did in fact add something to what was previously said.

 

[wickedwritah]

And another thing: Does anywhere allow the said before the name nowadays?

Style everywhere I've been lately has been "XXXXX said," not "said XXXXX."

Years ago, I had an SE who encouraged me to use "said XXXXX." Took forever to break that habit.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

I was told in my early days that I could alternate between "XXX said" and "said XXX". Now I only time I don't use "XXX said" in two cases:

1. When I'm adding more information between the name and the end of the sentence. I feel good about our chances against Big City next week," said Doe, who ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns against the Jackals in last year's sectional final.

2. When I use back-to-back quotes by two people, and I do the colon lead-in for the second quote. Said Doe: "Yabber yabber ding dong doodle."

Shifting gears slightly: is it just me or are more writers sticking quotes at the end of a paragraph instead of breaking it out as its' own graf?

Doe spent six years playing for the Diamond Cutters AAU baseball program before deciding to focus solely on football this season. "I enjoyed my time with the Cutters, but football is my future," Doe said.

I've been making that change on pretty much every freelance story I've edited the last six months

 

[wickedwritah]

A lot of our reporters don't put the attribution in until the end, either. It always reads funny to me. I'll change it if it messes with the flow of the quote and the comment having a natural breaking point.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

A lot of our reporters don't put the attribution in until the end, either. It always reads funny to me. I'll change it if it messes with the flow of the quote and the comment having a natural breaking point.

Which is something else. They'll put four sentences of quote before "Doe said". I was taught to always put the attribution after the first sentence of the quote. Sometimes I'll split a one-sentence quote with the attribution when it feels right to do so.

"Some days," Doe said, "you can't be the lead dog."

 

[SF_Express]

Perhaps sadly, I no longer worry too much about the "said Jones" and "Jones said" style. I've read it both ways in fine publications, and I don't fight that battle too much anymore.

 

[huntsie]

"Said" is the way to go. It's relatively invisible. He "said" it. You stumble over pretty much every other adjective for "said." -- although you can convey the guy's tone with other more words if they apply.
He "simmered," if he's mad, for instance.
He "bristled" if you pissed the guy off. It conveys his mood as well

I am an old timer, and said was then, and remains today, the way to go. You don't "bristle" a comment. It's he said, bristling. you don't "laugh" a comment. It's she said, laughing.

I had this very conversation with a writing coach who was in our office for a couple of weeks recently. He felt "bristled" was fine.We're in the business of economical word use. Why use two words when one is just as effective?

 

[wickedwritah]

Perhaps sadly, I no longer worry too much about the "said Jones" and "Jones said" style. I've read it both ways in fine publications, and I don't fight that battle too much anymore.

It's one thing to read it in a feature in a fine publication, when a writer should have a leash. It's another in a news story.