Said is Dead, or is it?

There is a debate in the writing world that has continued to cycle through many incarnations and has never achieved a clear cut answer. It has to do with dialogue tags: the little phrase after or before the quotations that attributes the dialogue to someone.

People feel very passionately about this and maybe you've heard the arguments. Either you think said is dead or you think it is the only tag to use.

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So, you're in the boat of "Said is Dead", what does that mean?
It means that you believe that humans are not monotone and speech is best conveyed through words that symbolize or describe those changes in voice and how things are...well, said.

There are so many lists out there, but here are some examples.
Someone can shout, scream, plead, cry, acknowledge, whisper, snarl, argue, answer, brag, chant, confess, mumble, mutter, murmur, hiss, threaten, warn and whimper... It goes on. People who believe said is dead state that humans do not just say words, they say them in ways that inform us of how they really feel. And when it comes to writing, there isn't a voice in your ear, telling you how the characters are saying their words, so dialogue tags are useful to convey those vocal expressions.

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Now let's say you're in the wagon that worships said.
Said is it. There can be no other dialogue tags and anything else is unprofessional.
In this case, many believe that dialogue tags are distractions to the reader. If every sentence ends with shouts or the words are always mumbled and murmured and muttered, then a reader gets tired and  thrown out of the story. Said is a neutral word. The eyes skip over it easily and the tag merely provides us with the knowledge of who spoke the words before going on to read the next part of the story.

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Finally, I suppose there is always a middle ground, some people believe in a bit of both. Overdoing dialogue tags creates problems, but so does lack of character when it counts. Said should be used in general with other tags used sparingly and for crucial moments.

So, now that we've skimmed the debate, what do you think? Do you have a preference? Why or why not?

Things that Bring You Joy

When you look at your things, your material possessions, what do you think? What do you feel?

Whenever I move, or help someone move, I always reconsider every object in my life and wonder whether or not it is worth keeping.

There are many objects that are "necessary goods" which means that we use them in our daily life and they are not negotiable. These goods can vary across cultures/societies but in general they fulfill needs like health and safety.

I don't want to focus on necessary goods right now, because the ones that we agonize over are the "luxury items" which mean that we hold onto them because of some desire or attachment. They're not vital for survival but they may satisfy other needs like our need for entertainment.

Isn't it nuts when you hold onto something, but it just gathers dust?
Well, this is a "gravestone" from Ben & Jerry's Flavor Graveyard;
 they know how to let things go when they're not working out.

There are many items that are things that "take up space" and not in a good way. We hold onto things and let it pile up, until we've forgotten what we own. Later we may go through it intending to get rid of things, but we are stopped when we think and contemplate, or find that we have some attachment that lingers with the object. "I'll keep it just a little while longer," we tell ourselves and then it ends up being years.

There is nothing wrong with being sentimental or having possessions, but when something no longer serves you - it is time to let go. That is something my mother always reminds me of when I tell her that I'm struggling to let go. "Keep the things that bring you joy," she says.

Recently I discussed this idea with a friend. Many objects that we hold onto are gifts and what I told my friend was that we feel an obligation to hold onto a gift because of the person that gave it to us. We can accept a gift gratefully, but that doesn't mean that it is something we must keep around forever.

Do people still handwrite thank you notes?
I'm not sure, but it has been a tradition with my family and we just keep doing it.
This was a thank you for a recommendation letter I received.
Although the letters are slightly falling down the page, I tried a fancy style to write it out. 

"It's not a gift if it comes with strings attached," I told my friend. "If you want to get rid of it, you should be able to without feeling guilty."

This was after I had given her something and I wanted to make sure that she didn't feel obligated to keep it, because I have trouble getting rid of things that people have given me. You feel as if the essence of that person and your relationship with them is tied into this gift. Ridiculous, right? Your relationship shouldn't be based on the material possessions exchanged between you, but on the moments of emotional vulnerability and trust that are truly precious and rare.

Put it this way. If your house was on fire or say a hurricane was on the way, what would you save? Do you think that the people who gave you gifts are going to care more about their gift than your safety?

Driving in the Rain

I'm a relatively new driver so if you have experience perhaps you find this easier. However, driving through the rain was an unexpected challenge that I experienced yesterday and it wasn't even raining that hard. Sprinkling compared to the torrential downpours that I've seen come down.

It was also dark, unfortunately the sun hasn't risen at 6am in the morning. So, I drove with a careful eye on the road and the cars around me while allowing my GPS to guide me through the many exits.

Testing out my night vision and reaction skills, at least that is how I tried to see it. There isn't much to see although there is more that warrants your attention. The flow of traffic, the location of exits, the intensity of the rain, it all factors into how you drive.

Have you ever held out your hand to stop a car from coming into your lane? As if you could somehow stop it or shoo it away. Sometimes I'm driving and another driver is doing something that seems a bit iffy so I throw out my hand and they move away. Not that my action is the reason for their movement; correlation does not equal causation (as all in statistics know). However, it is fun to think that I "force pushed" them away or somehow took control of their car. We don't know our own power, right?

Chemistry: the subtle art of character closeness

This is actually a picture of the potions classroom from the Warner Brothers Studios. Look at those self stirring cauldrons! I think J.K. Rowling said she was inspired by chemistry for the idea of potions and how they were made, and maybe her own teacher. Interestingly enough, I think she said she disliked chemistry the most and yet Snape talks about it with such descriptive and tantalizing imagery that we all want to pull up a seat in his classroom.

Chemistry, and not the one with the periodic table and moles (which are not furry little creatures that live underground). It's a word common enough that we disregard it, but what is chemistry? And how do we show it between characters?