Dialogue Tags, Action Beats & Gesture Banks: A Prose Toolkit for Fiction Writers
What are dialogue tags, action beats, and gesture banks? And why do they matter for your prose? This masterclass breaks down filler words, filter words, and repetitive gestures so you can stop leaning on the same shrug and bitten lip, and start building a reusable prose toolkit that grows with every manuscript.
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Hello writers. It's me, your door-to-door salesperson peddling the good word and gospel of a prose toolkit. Please don't close the door in my face—I've already caught more than a few doors with my toe and my poor feet can't take it anymore.
We're here to talk about one of the most powerful and understated tools you can have at your disposal. A good prose toolkit helps you identify your personal cliches, keeps your prose from feeling emotionally one-note, and takes the stress out of writing the "perfect" rough draft. Best part? It's evergreen, and grows with every manuscript.
"Said" gets a bad reputation in the literary community. We're not here to posture or moralize (okay, maybe we are a little bit), but we are here to provide some insight. "Said" is not a bad word. In fact, it's often what the sentence needs. But "said," much like cake, is only good in moderation. It feeds the spirit every now and again, but too much will give you a bellyache.
Take this original sentence for example: "I don't need your help," she said angrily.
Sure, it's fine. But what if we: "I don't need your help," she spat.
Or: "I don't need your help." She slammed the refrigerator door hard enough to rattle its contents.
The takeaway isn't Ctrl+F "said" and march through your manuscript with a torch. The takeaway is selective usage and emotional landscaping—choosing, deliberately, which beat carries the emotional weight of a moment instead of defaulting to whatever's closest at hand.
Lost? Don't Worry, We'll Break It Down a Bit Further . . .
The full masterclass covers how to build a brand that is easy to maintain, leaves an impression and caters to your target demographic without changing who you are.
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