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He said or said he

edited April 2012 in - Writing Problems
Is there a rule for whether to write this, for example:

"Hello, my friend," Dave said.

or this:

"Hello, my friend," said Dave.

Or is it just down to personal preference?

For a pronoun I'd always write it this way:

"Hello, my friend," he said.

Comments

  • As far as I know, it's the author's choice, a matter of style and preference. 'said Dave' and 'Dave said' sound fine to me, but I think 'said he' might sound a bit antiquated.
  • I agree with PBW - I use both "Dave said" and "said Dave" - it simply depends on how it reads at the time.
  • 'Said Dave', but not 'said he', which is rather Victorian!
    If in doubt, read it aloud.
  • edited April 2012
    Yeah, I wouldn't write "said he". I couldn't think of how else to title this thread. Would you suggest sticking to the chosen style ("Dave said" or "said Dave" ) throughout a story for consistency?
  • Not necessarily; some periodicals or publishers might quibble, so you should study what the house rules seem to be, if there are any.The Oxford Style Manual hasn't got an opinion on it.
    "I didn't mean to say that," Dave said, backing himself into a corner.
    "I didn't mean to say that," said Dave, backing himself into a corner.
    Does the second have slightly more humour? Depends on the context, I suppose.
  • I would usually prefer 'Dave said' when it precedes the quote and 'said Dave' when it follows. But always pronoun first - never 'said he' except for special effect. But that's only personal preference.
  • edited May 2012
    I remember reading something about this - was it on Talkback/in Writing Magazine? I think it was an American and he/she thought it you should always put the character's name first. Can't remember why, though. And switching between Dave said and said Dave certainly wasn't good. (Hmm. It wasn't a criticism of one of my stories, was it?)
  • Yes, I remember something about this - they said you should always use 'Dave said', as you might say 'he said' but you would never say 'said he'. Since then I've taken more notice of what I read in novels and a lot of authors still use both, but I believe for us novices it's supposed to be a no-no.
  • Said he or said she would never be used, but to use a name is quite acceptable i.e said David, said Anna. It directly addresses them, hence why it works and 'said he/said she' doesn't. It breaks up the brain churning monotony of he said, she said, said said said...one of my pet hates. Too many saids will detract the reader.

    You can avoid a lot of he said/she said with tighter, better writing. Variation is a good thing. Monotony aint.
  • As an aside, my son once came home from primary school and told me that his class had to perform the 'said he' song for the next assembly. Can you guess what it was?
  • [quote=Red]Variation is a good thing. Monotony aint[/quote] Up to a point - don't replace 'he said' with 'he expostulated' etc for the sake of variety!

    A speech tag isn't always needed. For example if just two people are talking you don't need a 'he said' or 'she said' after every piece of dialogue as it will be obvious who is talking, but if it's not clear it's better to use tags than to confuse the reader.
  • [quote= Phots Moll]Monotony aint Up to a point - don't replace 'he said' with 'he expostulated' etc for the sake of variety![/quote]

    Absolutely. Most speech tags are not required. Hence why you should think about your writing more closely, and devise ways of making it better and more concise.
  • [quote=montholon]As an aside, my son once came home from primary school and told me that his class had to perform the 'said he' song for the next assembly. Can you guess what it was?
    [/quote]

    Got to be that old song, about 'Simple Simon Said'. If it isn't, then I haven't the faintest idea...:)
  • [quote=montholon]As an aside, my son once came home from primary school and told me that his class had to perform the 'said he' song for the next assembly. Can you guess what it was?[/quote]
    Lord of the Dance?
  • Gotta be! (said she)
  • Philip's got it - 'Dance, dance, wherever you may be. I am the Lord of the Dance, said he!' Very catchy tune.
  • "Said he" is a rather quaint way of phrasing it that's probably best left to feature in rhyming verse and the like.

    My logic is that "said" is a verb, and you wouldn't put a verb in front of its subject (well, not in 99% of cases).

    Across the road, walked Dave.

    Murder, wrote she.

    "Enough examples, already!" protested they.
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