She stated, and I changed it

I WAS RECENTLY editing an aspiring novelist who was struggling with attribution. He'd write something like this:

She stated, "You are a real dummy. "

And I'd change it to:

"You are a real dummy," she said.

The word stated is stilted. In most cases, said works fine.

Don't worry; attribution is often a problem for even experienced writers and editors. Where do you put the "he said"?

Then there's the problem with two many "saids." I was listening to a Robert B. Parker novel on CD, and we had nothing but he said, she said.

"I'm an idiot, Molly," Jesse said.

"I agree, Jesse," Molly said.

"So do I," Crow said.

Somehow, it should be possible to attribute the quotes without all of those saids.

But if writing were easy, we all could do it well.

He said.


Contact: I can be reached at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

More EDITOR@WORK blog entries

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

Entries from The Dog Blog

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 10 years with Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

Blog entries from The Auto Racing Journal

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing

More blog entries by Tom Gillispie

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

Anecdotes by Tom Gillispie

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer outta there!