Ah, see my question was really pertaining to the subject of using a question mark then following it with the he asked/she asked dialogue tag was redundant, so I don't see why you'd need more info.
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He/she asked? Is it redundant?
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Ah, see my question was really pertaining to the subject of using a question mark then following it with the he asked/she asked dialogue tag was redundant, so I don't see why you'd need more info.
In that case, my previous answer stands. It's not redundant in writing generally, but in some instances it can be.
You will come across it often in published fiction. I answered a similar (but slightly different) question recently that provided some stats from a sample I had already gathered for other purposes:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?p=6970204#post6970204
In that post, of 63 examples of a tag being used with a question mark (so it didn't consider those without tags) I found:
37 instances of asked
11 instances of said
15 instances of other tags (whispered, etc)
Of course, a different sample might yield different results, but for your purposes, it probably provides sufficient evidence that it's not considered redundant in general use.
It could be redundant (if, for example, you already have an action tag in front of the question, like "He turned and stared at her. "What do you mean?"), since it's clear who the questioner is and that he/she is asking a question.
But just in normal dialogue flow, it's fine to use (O.K. with an adverb, too), especially to vary the rhythm of sentences, or a string of dialogue-only sentences.
But just in normal dialogue flow, it's fine to use (O.K. with an adverb, too), especially to vary the rhythm of sentences, or a string of dialogue-only sentences.
As long as it's not the ONLY way you express someone asking a question, it's fine. Use words like questioned, queried, wondered, etc. A thesaurus is often a writer's best friend. 
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As long as it's not the ONLY way you express someone asking a question, it's fine. Use words like questioned, queried, wondered, etc. A thesaurus is often a writer's best friend.
Actually, this is not the best advice, IMO. When a reader sees common dialog tags - asked, said, etc. - they become almost invisible. The last thing you want is an over-abundant, thesaurus fueled variety of tags - that becomes distracting.
The best bet is to use the common tags when necessary, but to also develop a rhythm and clear voices for the characters so that every line doesn't require a tag.
~suki
I read aloud to check that it is easy to follow who said what, and if it's clear, I delete most of the tags, regardless of whether they are 'said', 'asked', or whatever.
When I do use tags, I try to vary them and to use them to give further insight into the characters thoughts and emotions. As a reader, nothing is more boring than he said, she said, he said, she said.
When I do use tags, I try to vary them and to use them to give further insight into the characters thoughts and emotions. As a reader, nothing is more boring than he said, she said, he said, she said.
IMO redundancy is better than confusion. A good editor can cut what is needless. but I could be wrong.
I have never read a novel where I have noticed he said being redundant.
I like to put dialogue with action. It clarifies who is speaking.
I have never read a novel where I have noticed he said being redundant.
I like to put dialogue with action. It clarifies who is speaking.
So...bumping the thread to ask a related question to this. How much is too much dialogue without tags. For example, I have two characters in my WIP. They are having a lengthy conversation in the park. He/she asked/said is very redundant but it's more than just 3 or 4 lines that are easy to tell apart. As of right now, I have one of them doing some sort of action every now and then.
"Bla bla bla?" he asked while lightly nudging her with his elbow.
However, it would sound stupid to have them nudging/touching/smiling/etc. after ever other line. So. Where is the line? Is there a line? What is your personal preference?
"Bla bla bla?" he asked while lightly nudging her with his elbow.
However, it would sound stupid to have them nudging/touching/smiling/etc. after ever other line. So. Where is the line? Is there a line? What is your personal preference?
You establish who's speaking:
"I hate that color on you." He thumbed the fabric.
She snatched her arm away. "I don't recall asking your opinion."
"I felt obligated."
"Not in the mood."
The coffee cup felt like a brick in his hand. He didn't mean to [fill in the blank]
Crappy example, but I think it's clear who's talking without overdone stage direction. Set the scene, don't use use chunks of dialogue* without some type of attribution, and you're good to go. Also consider whether a lengthy conversation in the park is the best way to convey the information you seek to convey.
*"Chunks" equal line after line after line.
There's no absolute answer, of course. It's a judgement call. If two characters have distinct speech patterns or identifying markers, you can go a long time without having to tag their dialogue. If the content of their speech makes it obvious who is speaking, you can go a long time without having to tag. Go back to what the tag is for, to identify the person speaking or how they speak, and ask yourself where you need to add one for clarity. At some point, you're probably going to show your work to other people and get a second opinion anyway.
Yeah, it would. Again, it's a judgement call. Said is fine as a tag most of the time where a tag is required for clarity, other tags can be used sparingly as appropriate, too, and those little actions or beats can also be used sparingly as an alternative, but I would avoid too many distracting twitching, scratching, eye-rolling and other little movements as it's easy to overdo it.
It's worth checking out the last couple of dozen books you've read, flicking through for dialogue exchanges. There's a range of ways in which authors tag, and it might help to see look closely at how others do it (and you might consider some examples to be better than others, there's no gold standard).
Reading novels - with one's brain in 'Engage' mode - is the best way to learn how to write dialogue so it is understood and followed by the reader.
When reading one's own dialogue aloud it should be obvious where a speaker identifying tag is needed. What form that tag takes is entirely up to the writer but he can then draw upon what was learned from the reading of those other novels.
When reading one's own dialogue aloud it should be obvious where a speaker identifying tag is needed. What form that tag takes is entirely up to the writer but he can then draw upon what was learned from the reading of those other novels.
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I'd just echo what the others said. I've wondered the same thing, giving myself the smart-aleck response - "Well duh, what else would he do with a question?" But JHBogran nailed it - it's less about the "asked" and more about the "he."
Thank you everyone. Dialogue is my nemesis of sorts. I can write it as easy as breathing but tagging it...not so much.
If it is clear who is speaking, then why even use he asked? It would answer the redundancy question for you. But even when you have to use 'he asked' when someone is asking questions, I personally don't find it redundant.
In this case, I'd drop the "he asked while" part. You can alternate tags, no tags, and action and it will remain clear who is speaking:
"Bla bla bla?" He lightly nudged her elbow.
"Her dialogue"
"His dialgoue."
"Her dialogue," she said.
"His dialogue."
She did some action. "Her dialogue."
You can go 2 or 3 or sometimes even more lines without tags or actions and it still be clear who is speaking, especially if your characters have a clear voice, but you want in a tag or action every few lines or readers lose track of who is speaking.
It isn't incorrect. A question doesn't need a question mark any more than dialogue needs quotation marks. I think it's a stylistic decision.
I'm reading The Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits right now, that in places uses neither question marks, 'asked' nor quotation marks. Yet you know it's a question by context.
Like that (although there is a difference in tone that the writer should be aware of--it almost sounds rhetorical or holds the intonation of a statement). There are a lot of options. To the OP, I'd say don't get bogged down. Choose a method, be as consistent as possible and move on. Also, cut tags where an indent does the same kind of clarifying.
Lonely One.
A question without a question mark is not a question and - despite the 'in places' instance you quote - the writer you reference uses question marks in the same way as anyone else - to indicate a question.
A question without a question mark is not a question and - despite the 'in places' instance you quote - the writer you reference uses question marks in the same way as anyone else - to indicate a question.
It's incorrect according to the rules of punctuation. Omitting a question mark at the end of a question is an intentional decision to break the rules, which a writer can do, of course, for stylistic reasons. How well that choice will go over with an editor, publisher, or reader is another question, of course. It would annoy me as a reader to see something like this:
"How are you," he asked.
I can’t think of a book I’ve ever read where that was done, which is not to say it hasn’t been done, or won’t be done in the future. Certainly there was a time when virtually no one omitted quotation marks, and that’s becoming more common. Of course, as a reader, I’m also annoyed by the omission of quotation marks, but I know it is now accepted stylistically. I’m not sure the missing question mark is widely enough accepted by editors that you wouldn’t get it added back in by most.
This is a false comparison. A question mark is like a period or an exclamation point. It punctuates the end of a sentence. Quotation marks to indicate dialogue (or anything else) don't serve that purpose.
You can have a question without a question mark only when the question is spoken as a statement, without a rising inflection at the end. But if that inflection is there, the question mark is not optional.
All good, but I think TLO's point is that for stylistic purposes some authors don't follow these conventions. The exceptions are relatively rare, of course. I'm not familiar with Julavits, but in several novels Jose Saramago doesn't use question marks or dialogue tags, though I think his style (which goes well beyond simply omitting dialogue tags and question marks) is an extreme example.
Going against accepted principles of grammar and punctuation - or anything - purely for stylistic purposes, has nothing to do with questioning the correctness of the accepted norm.
Respectfully disagree. You really don't need it, I stand by this (in fiction/creative writing specifically). I can cite more examples from the same book that are indeed questions without question marks or the 'asked' tag.
It's stylistic and in my opinion and that of Julavits' publisher, totally fine.
I honestly think clarity and believability are the only rules of fiction writing.
My point was that both are clarifying marks that aren't needed when you don't need clarifying.
Also, to get bogged down in these grammar tropes really does creative writing a disservice. You can usually tell when a writer has command of their language, and I think if they know what they're doing I can usually go along with it, if it works and I understand the context.
It might make some people cringe but there are plenty of published examples where both these things are omitted without further need to clarify.
Yes, yes it is. You already have a question mark and when a writer does 'he asked, or 'she asked' I generally stop reading.
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