Kiwichick at 2009-12-09 13:43:26:

Cringe. I'm guilty of #159.

Josh K-sky at 2009-12-09 13:55:26:

In defense of (beat), if you have a long speech by a character, it breaks it up on the page. I probably use too many, but I find them preferable to, say, an unbroken nine-line speech.

Jim at 2009-12-09 14:22:21:

I usually break up a long speech by using a hard return which puts a line in between the paragraphs.

Xander Bennett at 2009-12-09 15:35:45:

Thanks again for the shout-out, Scott! I'm just glad John August hasn't publicly denounced me. :)

DS at 2009-12-10 01:26:41:

I use "beat" -- and why not? It breaks down dialogue.