Tags (like name tags) identify. A dialogue tag is group of words following quoted speech (e.g. ‘she said’), identifying who spoke and/or the way they spoke. Other words for ‘said’ can indicate:

• Volume (e.g. yelled, shouted, bellowed, screamed, whispered)
• Pitch or tone(e.g. shrieked, groaned, squeaked)
• Emotion (e.g. grumbled, snapped, sneered, begged)

The relation between these aspects of voice may also be important. It would be strange, as an example, for a character to ‘sneer’ the words since the word ‘sneer’ connotes contempt which is contrary to love‘ I love you.

Considering the fact that you can find countless verbs that can take the place of ‘said,’ should you simply find a stronger, more emotive one and make use of that?

Not necessarily. Below are a few strategies for using dialogue tags such as said and its particular substitutes well:

1. Use all dialogue tags sparingly

The difficulty with dialogue tags is they draw focus on the hand that is author’s. The more we read ‘he said’ and ‘she said’, the greater amount of we’re alert to the author creating the dialogue. We see the writer attributing who said what – it lays their guiding hand bare. Compare these two versions associated with conversation that is same

“I told you already,” I said, glaring.

“Well I was listening that is n’t was I!” he said.

“Apparently not,” he replied.

Now compare this into the following:

I glared at him. “I told you already.”

“Well I was listening that is n’t was I!”

For many, it is urgent link a matter of stylistic preference. Even so, it is difficult to argue that the version that is first better than the 2nd. Into the second, making glaring an action rather than tethering it to the dialogue gives us a stronger feeling of the characters as acting, fully embodied beings.

As it’s clear the glaring first-person ‘I’ is the character speaking at first, we don’t need certainly to add ‘I said’. The effectiveness of the exclamation mark into the character that is second reply makes any dialogue tag showing emotion (e.g. ‘he snapped’) unnecessary. We know it’s a reply from context because it’s on a new line, and responds to what the other said.

Similarly, in the first speaker’s retort, we don’t need a tag telling us his tone (that it’s curt, sarcastic, or hostile). The brevity, the known fact it is only two words, conveys his tone and we can infer the type continues to be mad.

Using tags sparingly allows your reader the pleasure of imagining and inferring. Your reader extends to fill out the blank spaces, prompted more subtly because of the clues you leave (an exclamation mark or a pointed, cross phrase).

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2. Use ‘said’ sparingly, other words for said way more

The word ‘said’, like ‘asked’, gives no personality and colour to a character’s utterance. In conversation between characters, alternatives for said can tell your reader:

• The person mental or emotional states associated with the conversants
• The degree of ease or conflict into the conversation
• What the relationship is like between characters (for example, if one character always snaps at the other this may show that the character is dominanting and perhaps unkind towards the other)

Listed below are dialogue words you need to use instead of ‘said’, categorised by the variety of emotion or scenario they convey:

Anger:

Shouted, bellowed, yelled, snapped, cautioned, rebuked.

Affection:

Consoled, comforted, reassured, admired, soothed.

Excitement:

Shouted, yelled, babbled, gushed, exclaimed.

Fear:

Whispered, stuttered, stammered, gasped, urged, hissed, babbled, blurted.

Determination:

Declared, insisted, maintained, commanded.

Happiness:

Sighed, murmured, gushed, laughed.

Sadness:

Cried, mumbled, sobbed, sighed, lamented.

Conflict:

Jabbed, sneered, rebuked, hissed, scolded, demanded, threatened, insinuated, spat, glowered.

Getting back together:

Apologised, relented, agreed, reassured, placated, assented.

Amusement

Teased, joked, laughed, chuckled, chortled, sniggered, tittered, guffawed, giggled, roared.

Storytelling:

Related, recounted, continued, emphasized, remembered, recalled, resumed, concluded.

Despite there being many other words for said, remember:

• Way too many could make your dialogue begin to feel like a compendium of emotive speech-verbs. Use dialogue that is colourful for emphasis. They’re the salt and spice in dialogue, not the whole meal
• Use emotive dialogue tags for emphasis. For instance if everything has been placid and a character suddenly gets a fright, here will be a good location for a shriek or a scream

One problem we often see in beginners’ dialogue is that most the emotion is crammed to the words themselves as well as the dialogue tags. Yet the characters feel a little like talking heads in jars. Your characters have bodies, so don’t be afraid to use them. Compare these examples:

“That’s not what you said yesterday,” she said, her voice implying she was retreating, withdrawing.

“Well I hadn’t seriously considered it yet. The fact remains now that I’ve had time I see that maybe it’s not planning to work out. But let’s never be hasty,” he said, clearly attempting to control her retreat, too.

“That’s not what you said yesterday.” She hesitated, turned and walked to the window.

“Well I hadn’t seriously considered it yet.” He stepped closer. “The truth is now that’ I’ve had time I note that maybe it is not likely to work out. But let’s not be hasty.” He reached off to place a tactile hand regarding the small of her back.

The dialogue is interspersed with setting in the second example. How the characters build relationships the setting (the woman turning to face the window, for instance) reveals their emotions mid-dialogue. The movement and gesture conveys similar feelings to the dialogue example that is first. Yet there’s a clearer feeling of proximity and distance, of two characters dancing around each other’s words, thoughts and feelings.

Vary the real way you show who’s speaking in your dialogue. Use emotive other words for said to season characters’ conversations. Yet seasoning shouldn’t overpower substance. Make use of the content of what characters say, their movement, body language, pauses, and silences, to produce deeper, more layered exchanges.

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