The actions of nod, grin, etc., typically occur in a different 
sentence than the quote spoken. Just a hint. 

  That's what I was trying to get at.  An expression/gesture can occur 
at the same time as someone saying something, but it does not actually 
make the noise that conveyed the quote to the listener.  I should have 
mentioned that the following _is_ legal, as the attribution can be 
implied:
     "Of course you're an idiot."  Akane grinned at Ranma.
   OTOH, this would be wrong:
     "Of course you're an idiot," Akane grinned at Ranma.

 Yet, of course, it's still done anyway, and it IS acceptable in 
writing (as I've seen paid authors do this every once in a while), so 
don't just blame it on this guy (heck, *I* do it myself sometimes). 

  Yup.  Paid authors do, indeed, use the technique, and several others 
that I gripe about.  The difference is that paid (ie, professional) 
writers know the rules well enough to decide for themselves how to break 
them.  James Joyce seemed to intentionally violate every law of the 
English language, because he could.  Amateur writers (and remember, 
that's what most of us are, even if some of us do occasionally put 
together a freelance piece that pays) do not have this luxury.

 I've never heard of this ["Blah...,"] thing before. I've always done 
it like this: ["Blah...."] The former looks... well, retarded, to say 
the least (read: it looks WRONG somehow). 

   I agree, but every source I found on punctuation stated very clearly 
that the ellipses were there to modify the voice of the speaker (by 
implying a trailing off or a broken pattern of speech), _not_ to 
actually punctuate the sentence.  Actually, I would suggest rewriting 
the so that the attribution is either implied or precedes the quote, as 
it would then end in the manner you prefer:
        Akane whispered to Ranma,  "You are an idiot...."
 or,    "You're an idiot, Ranma...."  Akane smiled as she
      watched her sleeping fiance.

 THAT's a bit cruel, don't you think? Did WE (as in the FFML as a 
whole) have to see this? 

   Actually, it was meant as a tease, more than anything else.  I've 
done a lot of replies to Coutuva's stuff before, always with the 
statement that it's because I enjoy his writing so much that I bother.
   And the fact that there is a different standard for the ellipses in 
British English is a significant point to my mind, since many of our 
posters seem to prefer it to Amurrican.

   Oh, and thanks, Gary, for leaping to my defense.

--Razorclaw X

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com

______________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com