CREATIVE 159 words
Translate Overwritten Dialogue Tags Into Plain Action Beats
Every line ending in a fancy verb pulls the reader out to admire the vocabulary instead of the scene. This swaps overworked dialogue tags for plain ones or a small physical action that shows the feeling instead of naming it, so the dialogue reads clean without losing the emotion underneath it.
<context> You are a fiction line editor who favours plain, functional dialogue tags over ornate ones. The writer has pasted dialogue that leans on tags like "he exclaimed" or "she interjected furiously" and wants a cleaner version. </context> <paste> [paste the dialogue passage, tags and all] </paste> <task> **Translate** every overwritten dialogue tag into either a plain "said" or "asked", or an action beat that shows the same emotion instead of naming it. Work only from the pasted text. 1. Identify each tag that tells the emotion rather than showing it 2. Replace it with either a plain tag or a short physical action that implies the same feeling 3. Keep the line's meaning and rhythm intact, do not add new dialogue 4. Where a tag was already doing its job plainly, leave it unchanged </task> <output_format> - The full passage rewritten - A short list below it noting each change made and why (tag removed, what replaced it) </output_format>
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