Fic help.

[Skydiver]

You know, it happens. there's only so many ways you can say 'said'.

However, it can also be said that the reader doesn't even notice all the 'said's' after a while

However, there are some tricks you can do, for example, if there's just a couple of people talking, you don't need a 'said' after every single sentence. Just every third or fourth one. Just often enough to keep track of who's saying what.

Or you can use tricks like 'teal'c answered major carter's question' or things like 'and what do you suggest, Daniel' then the next person is daniel answering.

Maybe you could post a few lines and we could give you some suggestions

[sbz]

This might be just my inexperience with doing many length stories of this caliber but is there a way to deal with repetitiveness when writing about dialogue? Because recently I've done the first draft of most of the first act, and I kind feel I've exhausted almost all possible combination of "said," "spoke," "mentioned" or whatever. Maybe this is just the way to proceed with this thing but by this point I keep feeling I've been typing this word too much.

Said is what you should be using most of the time. It is like "I" in first person stories, readers don't really notice it. I know that to you the writer it seems like it's repetative and noticeable but it isn't to readers. The worst thing you can do is start worrying about said and replacing it with flashy words that draw attention to themselves and detract from your dialogue.

You should only be replacing said when it's really important to emphasize how someone is saying something.

Further, dialogue tags are only strictly necessary when it's unclear who's speaking. You don't have to use a tag with every line of dialogue.

If you don't believe me open up a published book. Most authors stick to said or nothing at all.

Here's a good article on the topic: http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue%205/tags.htm

And there are plenty of others on writing sites because this is something that all new writers have to tackle.

Trust me, said is your friend.

[puddlejumperOZ]

Said is what you should be using most of the time. It is like "I" in first person stories, readers don't really notice it. I know that to you the writer it seems like it's repetative and noticeable but it isn't to readers. The worst thing you can do is start worrying about said and replacing it with flashy words that draw attention to themselves and detract from your dialogue.

You should only be replacing said when it's really important to emphasize how someone is saying something.

Further, dialogue tags are only strictly necessary when it's unclear who's speaking. You don't have to use a tag with every line of dialogue.

If you don't believe me open up a published book. Most authors stick to said or nothing at all.

Here's a good article on the topic: http://www.fmwriters.com/Visionback/Issue%205/tags.htm

And there are plenty of others on writing sites because this is something that all new writers have to tackle.

Trust me, said is your friend.

It bugs the hades out me when writing to see all the "said's" I put in. Word count, ooooh I get lost. So from a writing stance I refer to the grammar assistant, and end up with things like "implied", or something else entirely different. I just try to imagine real dialogue.

[Alx]

Oh LOL sorry i just had to post this youe are both talking about the word "said" at first glance when i read through this i thought you were talking about some guy named Sa-id like the dude from lost LOL sorry i just had to say it im laughing like crazy about my misstake atm!! amn now im off to bed my brain must be totally mushed as i cant even register the difference between said and Sa-id lol!

but an add to topic i would also say "said" is your friend as i personally dont really notice it while reading!

Good night!

Said is your friend

LMAO!

[Infinite-Possibilities]

Hey, who exactly is the IOA board composed of? Woolsey was a member. But what was his job again? Was one of them a Chinese Ambassador? Or some other profession. I know there were a couple of others. I would imagine that at least all the permanent members of the Security Council were represented. And who was there representing the States? I remember that in Season 9 Daniel Vala and Teal'c went before some US Senator to ask for more budget. Was that part of the IOA? The weird thing is I seem to remember General Landry refer to that meeting as both the International and the Senate Oversight Committee or somesuch.

[Jper]

Hey, who exactly is the IOA board composed of? Woolsey was a member. But what was his job again? Was one of them a Chinese Ambassador? Or some other profession. I know there were a couple of others. I would imagine that at least all the permanent members of the Security Council were represented. And who was there representing the States? I remember that in Season 9 Daniel Vala and Teal'c went before some US Senator to ask for more budget. Was that part of the IOA? The weird thing is I seem to remember General Landry refer to that meeting as both the International and the Senate Oversight Committee or somesuch.

I could explain it to you and tell you all about the members, but this is much better than I could ever do:

The most prominent IOA member is Richard Woolsey as a US representative. Two other American IOA members are James Marrick (Currie Graham), shown in Stargate: The Ark of Truth, and Coolidge (Rob LaBelle), shown in "Midway". Representatives of other nations are shown in season 9's "The Scourge" – Russel Chapman of the United Kingdom (played by Andy Maton), Jean Lapierre of France (Mark Oliver), Chen Xiaoyi of China (Tamlyn Tomita), and Col. Chekov of Russia (Gary Chalk). When these representatives review operations at the SGC and Atlantis, members of both the SGC and the Atlantis expedition display a rather low opinion of the IOA. According to Dr. Elizabeth Weir in "No Man's Land", the IOA's inability to make final decisions is only a strategic maneuver to not take responsibility, therefore having a scapegoat (such as Weir herself) in case things go wrong.

Source: Wikipedia

Try this link.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions otherwise.

[Sappho]

This might be just my inexperience with doing many length stories of this caliber but is there a way to deal with repetitiveness when writing about dialogue? Because recently I've done the first draft of most of the first act, and I kind feel I've exhausted almost all possible combination of "said," "spoke," "mentioned" or whatever. Maybe this is just the way to proceed with this thing but by this point I keep feeling I've been typing this word too much.

The above posters are right. Said tends to disappear after a while. (Constant uses of "whispered," "called," "sniveled," "whined," and the like can actually be more distracting...) Although the least obtrusive way to attribute dialogue is to just sandwich it in with action and thought.

"I just can't decipher it, sir." Sam stepped away. "It's beyond my realm of understanding."

Jack couldn't believe he had heard her right. Knowing she was their only hope of survival, he set his jaw and did his best to infuse each word with every ounce of surety he had. "Carter! You have to. You will decode the shield and you will do it quickly. Now get back out there and save our asses!"

Sam met his gaze, her eyes wide with surprise and something akin to hope. "Yes, sir." She turned and walked down the corridor, her steps ringing with more determination than he'd seen from her in days.


See? Not a single "said." But don't be afraid of "said," either. It CAN be your friend.

Now, what I came here for:

QUESTION!

"Carters don't cry." Canon or fanon? Has anything like this ever been said in an episode? I've read it so often, I just can't remember anymore and don't feel like wading through 65 DVDs to find out.

[Infinite-Possibilities]

Seeing as both Jacob and Sam have cried before, I would doubt that. Although it is possible I am forgetting something.

I could explain it to you and tell you all about the members, but this is much better than I could ever do:

The most prominent IOA member is Richard Woolsey as a US representative. Two other American IOA members are James Marrick (Currie Graham), shown in Stargate: The Ark of Truth, and Coolidge (Rob LaBelle), shown in "Midway". Representatives of other nations are shown in season 9's "The Scourge" – Russel Chapman of the United Kingdom (played by Andy Maton), Jean Lapierre of France (Mark Oliver), Chen Xiaoyi of China (Tamlyn Tomita), and Col. Chekov of Russia (Gary Chalk). When these representatives review operations at the SGC and Atlantis, members of both the SGC and the Atlantis expedition display a rather low opinion of the IOA. According to Dr. Elizabeth Weir in "No Man's Land", the IOA's inability to make final decisions is only a strategic maneuver to not take responsibility, therefore having a scapegoat (such as Weir herself) in case things go wrong.

Source: Wikipedia

Try this link.

Hope this helps, feel free to ask more questions otherwise.

I recall most of them. But we don't actually know much about their actual jobs or positions in their respective countries? Or do we?

I was trying to remember if any of them were given any official job titles in the script.

[Guest]

QUESTION!

"Carters don't cry." Canon or fanon? Has anything like this ever been said in an episode? I've read it so often, I just can't remember anymore and don't feel like wading through 65 DVDs to find out.

I'd guess fanon. it's so hard to distinguish between the two sometimes

i think it came out of their reluctance to cry. it's less that they don't cry, and more than they don't like to be seen crying. No one likes to be seen crying and Sam's spent most of her life being a logical tough girl so if something does upset her enough to cry, then being seen crying would only make it worse.

[Jper]

Seeing as both Jacob and Sam have cried before, I would doubt that. Although it is possible I am forgetting something.



I recall most of them. But we don't actually know much about their actual jobs or positions in their respective countries? Or do we?

I was trying to remember if any of them were given any official job titles in the script.

Yeah, not only we don't know much about them. I also think this would be a complex organization and the people behind some function would often change. I would just think their actual job is being an IOA representative. Wouldn't that be a full time job?

[sbz]

Now, what I came here for:

QUESTION!

"Carters don't cry." Canon or fanon? Has anything like this ever been said in an episode? I've read it so often, I just can't remember anymore and don't feel like wading through 65 DVDs to find out.

I would practically guarantee that it's fanon. I think it probably comes from JAcob as the tough military man and then Carter following in his footsteps and proving herself, etc. One of the fastest ways for women to be dismissed in male dominated worlds is to cry. It's seen as very feminine and weak.

Also I'd say fanon because when I hear/read that phrase the first thing that comes to mind is Farscape. "Crichtons don't cry" is canon, followed swiftly by "at least not often or for very long." But I don't get even a little twinge of Stargate recollection.

And can you really think of when such a phrase might actually have been said during the show? When it would have been appropriate to the situation? I can't. And if it hadn't been appropriate it probably would have sounded corny as all get out and people would have definitely remembered it!

[Skydiver]

i think the 'carters don't cry' stems from Tok'ra,

In the corner of a room, Sam phones her Dad.
SAM: Dad, hi, it's me, Sam. [Pauses] What do you mean, why am I calling?
Dad? You just told me that you have cancer, you can't... [Pauses] Alright,
okay, never mind. Listen, er, I'm about to go on a little trip. [Pauses]
Yes, it's for the Air Force. [Pauses] It's not important where I'm going
Dad, what's important is that I may be gone a while and I just wanted to
call and see how you're doing. [Pauses] You're sure?
Sam puts the phone down and gets up to leave. General Hammond walks up to
her.
HAMMOND: Your father?
SAM: Yes Sir.
HAMMOND: How is Jacob?
SAM: He claims he's okay, not that he'd tell me if he weren't. Did you know
he actually got an apartment here in town?
HAMMOND: He wanted to be closer to his daughter during...
SAM: During his last days. Sir, this is the first time I've left on a
mission where I've felt like I might be leaving something behind. Like I
might miss something important.
HAMMONDANIEL: Understandable. I'll put a temporary replacement on SG-1. You
can stay here.
SAM: I wish I could, Sir, but I don't think I'm replaceable on this one. The
memories of Jolinar left in my mind could be invaluable on this mission and
no-one else has them.
HAMMOND: True, but your father...
SAM: Sir, it's okay, he doesn't want me around anyway.
HAMMOND: Sam, I've known Jacob a long time. That's not true.
SAM: Sir, he's always too concerned about appearing the strong soldier. The
last thing he would want is for me to see him in a hospital bed losing a
battle. I should get going Sir, I don't wanna hold things up.
HAMMOND: Captain! You're more like your father than you'd like to admit.


and so 'carters don't cry' can easily be interpreted from this

[Sappho]

Thanks guys; you rock.

I was 98 percent sure the line of dialogue was fanon, but I'd read it for so long that I couldn't shake the feeling I was missing something!

We definitely catch the essence of the line from the series (especially from the episode Tok'ra), but SBZ hit the nail on the head with the callback to Farscape. I'm almost positive the "Crichtons don't cry [...]" line is why the feeling of familiarity was so hard to dismiss. I knew I'd heard something similar SOMEWHERE.

Thanks much!

[Infinite-Possibilities]

How much was ever detailed about Lorne's team? Did he have the same one from when he started? Do we know whether that was the case or not?

[Skydiver]

he first showed up in Enemy Mine, part of sg11 maybe? colonel edwards was the CO

then not much really until atlantis. I don't recall his SGA team much, if it was the same people or if it varied from episode to episode