One of the most common mistakes I come across while editing is incorrect dialogue tags. Remember that in order for something to be correctly considered a dialogue tag, it should be about the mechanics of speaking, not what the speaker is doing. Here’s an example:
Incorrect: “Catch me if you can,” he smiled.
Correct: “Catch me if you can,” he said through his smile.
OR: “Catch me if you can.” He smiled.
You cannot “smile” words, so that first example does not count as a dialogue tag. As you can see, there are various ways to fix this error.
If you’re looking for someone to check over your dialogue tags (in addition to other things), feel free to get in contact with me. I’d be happy to provide you with a free sample edit so we can determine if we’re a good fit.
Timothy
