Dialogue
Dialogue Tags
Detect said-bookisms, adverb tags, and talking heads in dialogue.
What It Does
Analyzes dialogue passages for three common issues:
- Said-bookisms — exotic dialogue tags like "opined," "exclaimed," "interjected" that draw attention away from the dialogue itself
- Adverb tags — dialogue tags modified by adverbs ("said quietly," "asked nervously") that tell emotion instead of showing it
- Talking heads — long stretches of dialogue with no action beats, leaving characters as disembodied voices
Why It Matters
"Said" is invisible — readers' eyes skip right past it. Exotic tags like "ejaculated" or "expostulated" interrupt the reading flow to showcase the author's vocabulary. Adverb tags ("said angrily") are a form of telling rather than showing. And extended dialogue without action beats ("talking heads") leaves the reader without any sense of physical space or character behavior.
What Gets Flagged
Said-Bookisms
Severity: Information
Example (flagged):
"I disagree," she opined.
Why: "Opined" draws attention to itself. The reader pauses on the tag instead of staying in the conversation.
Suggested revision:
"I disagree," she said. — or simply — "I disagree."
Adverb Tags
Severity: Hint
Example (flagged):
"Get out," he said angrily.
Why: The adverb tells the reader how the line was delivered. Show it through the dialogue itself or an action beat.
Suggested revision:
"Get out." He shoved the chair back from the table.
Talking Heads
Severity: Information
Example (flagged):
More than 6 consecutive dialogue lines without any narration or action beats.
Why: Without physical grounding, dialogue becomes a screenplay transcript. Action beats orient the reader in space.
Suggested revision:
Add action beats: the character looks away, picks up an object, shifts weight — anything that keeps the physical world present.
Configuration
No configuration options.
Technical Details
- Source:
prose-craft - Scope: Line-level for tags; block-level for talking heads
- Method: Regex matching for dialogue tag patterns and adverb modifiers; consecutive dialogue line counting