Douglas_Knight comments on Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality discussion thread, part 3 - Less Wrong

5 Post author: Unnamed 30 August 2010 05:37AM

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Comment author: Douglas_Knight 07 October 2010 06:29:44PM 4 points [-]

It's fairly common writing advice that you should do your best not to use any other verb than 'said' to carry on a conversation.

the consensus is on the side of "use said as much as possible".

I agree with the first, but not the last. There is also the option of dropping "he verbed" entirely.

Comment author: JGWeissman 07 October 2010 07:03:35PM 11 points [-]

There is also the option of dropping "he verbed" entirely.

This can cause problems. Sometimes when I read a lengthy dialogue in this style, I read a line which seems to me much less likely to by said by character whose turn it is to speak, and I have to go back to the last anchor point where it was made explicit who was talking, and carefully keep track of it. In some cases, after doing this, I have wondered if the author lost track.

Being clearly understood is more important that avoiding the appearance of redundancy.

Comment author: TobyBartels 14 October 2010 04:51:49AM 1 point [-]

In some cases, after doing this, I have wondered if the author lost track.

In some case, I have confirmed that the author must have lost track, and have had to make a guess as to where the mistake is.