A Principle To Help With Clear Dialogue

There are days we all feel like Maxine, but my answer to her is that I want more than that. I want Maxine and the rest of us to use the best tools we have to make our writing stand out from that of others. 

Today, I'm going to concentrate on one small, but important, part of writing dialogue. When I critique the subs at my online writing group, I point out one problem time and again. We know we want to show an action along with dialogue when possible. What I see writers do is to put the action after the dialogue. That's backward. Look at the example below:

A.  "Stop that!" Sally slapped his hand from her arm.

B.  Sally slapped his hand from her arm. "Stop that!" 

C. "Stop that!" Sally said. Sally slapped his hand from her arm.

Which is the best? The worst? I think B is best and C is the worst. In B, we see the action, then hear the words that go with it. In A, would Sally say the words, then slap his hand away? Your mind sees the action in B, then absorbs the words. And C? Adding the tag is unnecessary as the action tells you who is speaking. 

Another example but this time using feeling (or thought) prior to the action and dialogue. It's called the FAD Principle. FeelingActionDialogue

Susan knew Mary would take the biggest piece of cake. She stepped between her friend and the table full of cake slices. "I'll take this one."

It seems more logical that Susan would step in front of the table before she speaks. To me, action first, then dialogue seems the proper order and the way it happens. If I write this:  Sybil pushed the dog's head from her lap. "Just go away, Duke. I'm not in the mood for a walk now." Doesn't it seem normal that she is pushing the dog's head away, then telling him why first? You, naysayers, are going to tell me that the action and dialogue are happening at the same time. Quite possibly, they are, but you have to show one before the other, and I agree with The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing that the action should be shown first. Evan Marshall features the FAD principle in his book.

Even if you don't have the Feeling part in the dialogue, just the Action and Dialogue, put the action first, then the spoken words. Why? For clarity. Develop the habit of using the action prior to the dialogue. We aren't always going to have the Feeling included, but if you do, remember FAD.