X said or said X

Anna Spargo-Ryan · Jul 25, 2014

I have a great fondness for "said X" and use it quite a bit (I don't write children's books or fairytales). Having said that, I think all of these stylistic choices should be based on whatever works best in context.

benbenberi · Jul 25, 2014

There's no rule.

Personal preferences vary widely, and the same person may prefer different things if you ask them twice.

Most people really don't care one way or the other. And they're right not to.

Use whatever sounds right to you at the time and in the place you want to use it.

CrastersBabies · Jul 25, 2014

I dunno. It reminds me of Dr. Seuss. I just can't shake that.

Fruitbat · Jul 25, 2014

Another time this question came up, it seemed the "said X" form was more accepted by those in the UK, less so by those in the US. Not sure if that applied to the larger world or just who happened to be on the thread, though.

Dennis E. Taylor · Jul 25, 2014

CrastersBabies said:
I dunno. It reminds me of Dr. Seuss. I just can't shake that.

I do not think I said, said I,
I do not think that this will fly.
The truth! The truth! It matters not,
It doesn't, says I, Angry Guy.

.
.
.
Now you're also going to be trying to come up with other seussisms, too! :evil

BethS · Jul 26, 2014

Royale said:
which do yo use?

There's no rule. But I mostly use 'X said,' because it puts the subject and verb in the right (most modern) order. However, I do occasionally reverse those if it's called for in the text. For instance, 'said the man with the iron earring' generally works better than 'the man with the iron earring said.'

ETA: I sometimes encounter 'said Bob' in fiction, but very rarely 'said he,' which, as others have pointed out, sounds archaic and like something you'd find in poetry and children's books. So if you wouldn't use 'said he,' then why use 'said Bob,' unless there's a particular need to?

guttersquid · Jul 26, 2014

I can only speak for myself. No, there's no right or wrong, but . . .

"Said" is supposed to be invisible, but the "said X" structure always jumps out at me, rendering "said" no longer invisible. It conjures up the old "See Jane run. See Spot chase the ball" primers from when I was a kid.

And, yes, it might be a UK thing. I submitted a short story to my publisher, a Brit, and he said (paraphrasing here), "I like it. Now change all of the 'X saids' to 'said Xs,' and we're good to go."

I refused, but he published the story anyway.

BreMiche · Jul 27, 2014

I found that using 'x said' or 'said x' depended a lot on the names of the characters and what was going on when it was being spoken. Many sounded better with said x while a smaller number flowed better with x said.

Roxxsmom · Jul 28, 2014

This question pops up from time to time. People seem to have passionate opinions about which way is correct, but pull some published books down from your shelves, and you'll likely see authors doing it both ways, often within the same book, even. You'll probably get more people saying they prefer "x said," when it's a proper name, same as for a pronoun, but some names, and some sentences just flow better as "said X."

Eli Hinze · Jul 28, 2014

I'd go with whatever fits best. However, it's worth mentioning that in "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers" the editors mention a significant preference for "X said" as opposed to "said X". Might just be them, but hey, I guess it helps to know. (I highly recommend checking that book out out, btw. It's awesome.)

Myrealana · Jul 28, 2014

"Stop worrying and use what works in each situation," said Myrealana, rolling her eyes almost painfully.

Myrealana · Jul 28, 2014

Douglas Adams

'Drink up,' said Ford, 'you've got three pints to get through.'
'Three pints?" said Arthur. 'At lunchtime?'
The man next to Ford grinned and nodded happily. Ford ignored him. He said, 'Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.'
'Very deep,' said Arthur, 'you should send that in to the Reader's Digest. They've got a page for people like you.'
'Drink up.'

J.K. Rowling

“It’s hot, isn’t it? said Hermione, fanning herself with her hand. “Viktor’s just gone to get some drinks.”
Ron gave her a withering look. “Viktor?” he said. “Hasn’t he asked you to call him Vicky yet?”
Hermione looked at him in surprise. “What’s up with you?” she said.
“If you don’t know,” said Ron scathingly, “I’m not going to tell you.”

Gillian Flynn

“I’m guessing—five years—she’s going to get really pissed,” Go continued. “So I hope you got her a really good present.”
“On the to-do list.”
“What’s the, like, symbol, for five years? Paper?”
“Paper is first year,” I said. At the end of Year One’s unexpectedly wrenching treasure hunt, Amy presented me with a set of posh stationery, my initials embossed at the top, the paper so creamy I expected my fingers to come away moist. In return, I’d presented my wife with a bright red dime-store paper kite, picturing the park, picnics, warm summer gusts. Neither of us liked our presents; we’d each have preferred the other’s. It was a reverse O. Henry.
“Silver?” guessed Go. “Bronze? Scrimshaw? Help me out.”
“Wood,” I said. “There’s no romantic present for wood.”

Just for reference.

BethS · Jul 28, 2014

Myrealana said:
Douglas Adams

J.K. Rowling

Gillian Flynn

Just for reference.

Interesting to note that the first two are UK authors and the third one is American, reinforcing my opinion that preference for one style or the other depends on what side of the pond you're on. (And naturally there will be exceptions, even within the same work.)

Bufty · Jul 28, 2014

Oh, Beth. Someone else's random choice is no reinforcement of anything.

BethS said:
Interesting to note that the first two are UK authors and the third one is American, reinforcing my opinion that preference for one style or the other depends on what side of the pond you're on. (And naturally there will be exceptions, even within the same work.)

Myrealana · Jul 28, 2014

BethS said:
Interesting to note that the first two are UK authors and the third one is American, reinforcing my opinion that preference for one style or the other depends on what side of the pond you're on. (And naturally there will be exceptions, even within the same work.)

Far more interesting, I think, is that all three authors mix their use of subject-verb and verb-subject, depending on what works best for the particular passage.

Roxxsmom · Jul 28, 2014

Just read a book that was co-written by a US and Canadian author, and they used said [name] fairly often, but not exclusively. I'm reading a book by a British author who seems to prefer [name] said.

I think this is one of those things that people can overthink, but to be honest, I rarely notice it as a reader unless I pick up a book and search it to see how the author handles dialog tags.

BethS · Jul 29, 2014

Bufty said:
Oh, Beth. Someone else's random choice is no reinforcement of anything.

It reinforces what I've already observed. In my experience, I'm far more likely to encounter 'said X' in novels by UK authors.

Lissibith · Jul 29, 2014

Just went through the chapter I'm currently editing. Slight advantage to "said X" over "X said" in my writing, but I use both as my ear dictates.

As a reader, I don't tend to notice it unless the repetition gets obvious. Like, a book I read last week had every dialogue line go like this:

"Whatever was said," NAME said.

Granted, this was not a problem with the construction of the dialogue tag really, it was a problem with the lack of variety in the sentence structure.

WeaselFire · Jul 29, 2014

Royale said:
Thoughts? And which do yo use?

Same answer to both questions: Whichever is best for the case at hand. Frankly though, I rarely use either.

Jeff

Reziac · Jul 29, 2014

Jamesaritchie said:
Sure, but how do you know if it's appropriate? It's usually best to do things like this the same way the great majority of published writers do it.

Lois McMaster Bujold does this, quite consistently:

Miles said, "Blah blah."

but,

"Blah blah," said Miles.

Do whichever sounds best at that moment, says me.

I just rooted through my own Epic, and over about 240,000 words, the said Someone construction occurs about two dozen times, mainly as a way of altering the rhythm; used as an interrupting tag, it tends to put emphasis on the fact that a certain person said Blah, like an interjection:

"Blah," said Miles, "and blah on you too!"

cmhbob · Jul 29, 2014

I didn't use any tags in The Sad Girl, I think. Or very few. Then again, it was first person. But I think it flowed better that way.

X said or said X

Anna Spargo-Ryan

Just pokin' about

benbenberi

practical experience, FTW

CrastersBabies

Burninator!

Fruitbat

.

Dennis E. Taylor

Get it off! It burns!

BethS

guttersquid

I agree with Roxxsmom.

BreMiche

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

Eli Hinze

Snuggler of Cats & Writer of Things

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

BethS

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

Myrealana

I aim to misbehave

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

BethS

Lissibith

On target

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

Reziac

Resident Alien

cmhbob

Did...did I do that?