#dialogue tags

[slayingfiction]

Words to use instead of ‘said’

**Using the word ‘said’ is absolutely not a bad choice, and in fact, you will want to use it for at least 40% of all your dialogue tags. Using other words can be great, especially for description and showing emotion, but used in excess can take away or distract from the story.

Neutral: acknowledged, added, affirmed, agreed, announced, answered, appealed, articulated, attested, began, bemused, boasted, called, chimed in, claimed, clarified, commented, conceded, confided, confirmed, contended, continued, corrected, decided, declared, deflected, demurred, disclosed, disputed, emphasized, explained, expressed, finished, gloated, greeted, hinted, imitated, imparted, implied, informed, interjected, insinuated, insisted, instructed, lectured, maintained, mouthed, mused, noted, observed, offered, put forth, reassured, recited, remarked, repeated, requested, replied, revealed, shared, spoke up, stated, suggested, uttered, voiced, volunteered, vowed, went on

Persuasive: advised, appealed, asserted, assured, begged, cajoled, claimed, convinced, directed, encouraged, implored, insisted, pleaded, pressed, probed, prodded, prompted, stressed, suggested, urged

Continuously: babbled, chattered, jabbered, rambled, rattled on

Quietly: admitted, breathed, confessed, croaked, crooned, grumbled, hissed, mumbled, murmured, muttered, purred, sighed, whispered

Loudly: bellowed, blurted, boomed, cried, hollered, howled, piped, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, shrieked, squawked, thundered, wailed, yelled, yelped

Happily/Lovingly: admired, beamed, cackled, cheered, chirped, comforted, consoled, cooed, empathized, flirted, gushed, hummed, invited, praised, proclaimed, professed, reassured, soothed, squealed, whooped

Humour: bantered, chuckled, giggled, guffawed, jested, joked, joshed

Sad: bawled, begged, bemoaned, blubbered, grieved, lamented, mewled, mourned, pleaded, sniffled, sniveled, sobbed, wailed, wept, whimpered

Frustrated: argued, bickered, chastised, complained, exasperated, groaned, huffed, protested, whinged

Anger: accused, bristled, criticized, condemned, cursed, demanded, denounced, erupted, fumed, growled, lied, nagged, ordered, provoked, raged, ranted remonstrated, retorted, scoffed, scolded, scowled, seethed, shot, snapped, snarled, sneered, spat, stormed, swore, taunted, threatened, warned

Disgust: cringed, gagged, groused, griped, grunted, mocked, rasped, sniffed, snorted

Fear: cautioned, faltered, fretted, gasped, quaked, quavered, shuddered, stammered, stuttered, trembled, warned, whimpered, whined

Excited: beamed, cheered, cried out, crowed, exclaimed, gushed, rejoiced, sang, trumpeted

Surprised: blurted, exclaimed, gasped, marveled, sputtered, yelped

Provoked: bragged, dared, gibed, goaded, insulted, jeered, lied, mimicked, nagged, pestered, provoked, quipped, ribbed, ridiculed, sassed, teased

Uncertainty/Questionned: asked, challenged, coaxed, concluded, countered, debated, doubted, entreated, guessed, hesitated, hinted, implored, inquired, objected, persuaded, petitioned, pleaded, pondered, pressed, probed, proposed, queried, questioned, quizzed, reasoned, reiterated, reported, requested, speculated, supposed, surmised, testified, theorized, verified, wondered

This is by no means a full list, but should be more than enough to get you started!

Any more words you favor? Add them in the comments!

Happy Writing :)

[lyralit]

all the dialogue tags you'll ever need

agreed

allowed

assented

assured

babbled

begged

blurted

boomed

breathed

cajoled

chimed (in)

chortled

clarified

concluded

confirmed

consoled

cried

cursed

declared

demanded

disclaimed

exclaimed

gasped

glowered

groaned

grumbled

grunted

gushed

hissed

insisted

jabbed

lamented

laughed

moaned

mumbled

murmured

mutter

noted

offered

ordered

promised

proposed

protested

queried

questioned

quipped

rambled

rasped

realized

recalled

relented

replied

reprimanded

retorted

said

scolded

screeched

shrieked

sneered

sneered

spat

swore

threatened

wailed

warned

whined

[icescrabblerjerky]

Like with so many writing advice tips, the whole “Don’t use said” is so badly misrepresented. For example:

“I’m going to the shops,” Mike said. 

“Okay,” Jennifer said.

“Do you want anything?” Mike said.

“I’m good thanks,” Jennifer said.

“Okay I’ll see you later then.” Mike said.

THIS IS BAD. But. Let’s go in there and do the other extreme.

“I’m going to the shops,” Mike mentioned.

“Okay,” Jennifer replied.

“Do you want anything?” Mike interjected.

“I’m good thanks,” Jennifer murmured.

“Okay I’ll see you later then,” Mike called.

BAD ALSO. Because you’ve done nothing to rectify the “said” problem. Because the problem isn’t SAID it’s BAD USE OF DIALOGUE TAGS. Full STOP.

TECHNICALLY THE ONLY DIALOGUE TAGS YOU NEED IN THIS ARE THE FIRST AND SECOND ONES, so if you go with that it becomes:

“I’m going to the shops,” Mike said.

“Okay,” Jennifer said.

“Do you want anything?”

“I’m good thanks.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later then.”

Literally all you need, because the person who is speaking is dictated by the paragraph separations. It’s still dull, but it’s functional. I can’t imagine ever writing a scene with that in there because it does nothing for the story. So instead have this:

Here:

“I’m going to the shops,” Mike said. Jennifer nodded, she was busy folding washing. 

“Okay.”

“Do you want anything?”

She didn’t. She’d not wanted anything from him for years. And she couldn’t find a second sock for this fucking pair. “I’m good, thanks.”

“Okay,” Mike knew there was something wrong at this point, but he wasn’t going to push it. Not now. There wasn’t time. “I’ll see you later then.”

THERE you have story interspersed with dialogue and literally ONLY ONE DIALOGUE TAG. Said doesn’t MATTER unless you overuse dialogue tags.

ALSO IT’S A SHITTY LITTLE STORY DO NOT CRITIQUE IT I’M JUST USING IT AS EXAMPLE FFS.

[performativezippers]

The most underrated dialogue, according to me, is “lies.” I try to only use it once a fic/manuscript but it’s so powerful!!! Check it out:

Two examples, one more fun than the other. For both, we’ll use the line: “I’m fine,” she lies. “Just clumsy.”

Example 1 (less fun):

She’s trying so hard not cry but her eyes are full of tears. She has to get out of there, but everything is blurry, and she trips over a chair. Of course, it happens right in front of Meg, who dramatically leaps from her seat.

“Oh my god, Bee,” she says, reaching out. “Are you okay?”

Bee clears her throat, pasting on a fake smile and looking in the direction of Meg’s blurry form, forcing her tears not to fall.

“I’m fine,” Bee lies. “Just clumsy.”

What do we get here? Bee can “say” it, sure, but “lies” packs a bit more of a punch. It’s hitting even harder that she’s lying, but it doesn’t really change much. Still love it, though!

But what’s even better is if the interaction below is the first time Meg and Bee ever interact. This means every single thing we know about their dynamic happens in the following lines:

Bee’s stomach roils at what Matthew is saying to her. She’s so angry she can’t see straight. She makes up some excuse about having to feed the parking meter—he doesn’t need to know she took an Uber here—and flees.

Or we’ll, tries to flee. Her foot hits a chair and she almost falls face-first into the overly polished marble floor, but someone catches her. It would be a cute moment, a superhero sweeping her off her feet, if the strong hands didn’t belong to…fuck.

It’s fucking Meg. Meg holding her up, Meg’s face drawn in exaggerated concern. “Oh my god,” Meg says, too loudly. “Bee, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Bee lies. “Just clumsy.”

We get from that one dialogue tag what would take sentences of interiority. We learn:

Bee is not fine

Bee is not clumsy

Bee is not willing to share with Meg what Matthew said that made her so mad—why not??

Bee is not repeating the lie about the parking meter to Meg—why not??

Bee lies twice—once to Matthew, once to Meg—but it’s only called “lying” in the text once (to Meg). That likely means she assigns more value/meaning/weight to lying to Meg (a person who matters) than to Matthew (a person who doesn’t). Why?? Who is Meg?? What is their relationship??

The reader gets so much more to think about, so many more hints, than in the first example. You can give so much with one little word swap.

It’s funny because, on its face, “lies” is a more overt and telling (rather than showing) dialogue tag than “says,” but it actually allows you to show so much more if you use it right/judiciously.

What are your favorite dialogue tags??

[elumish]

Dialogue Basics

The dialogue tag can go before, after, or inside the dialogue:

Before: Jane said, "I'm saying words." (Note the comma after said and the period at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks.)

After: "I'm saying words," Jane said. "I'm saying words," said Jane. (Note the comma at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks, and the uncapitalized said.) "Am I saying words?" asked Jane. (Note the question mark at the end of the question, inside the quotation marks, and the uncapitalized asked.) "I'm saying words." The woman spoke authoritatively. (Note the period at the end of the statement, inside the quotation marks. That's because after the quotation marks is a new sentence. The word after the quotation marks is capitalized.)

Inside: "I'm saying words," Jane said, "and you are reading them." (Common) "I'm saying words," said Jane, "and you are reading them." (Uncommon) (Note the comma at the end of the first part of the statement, inside the quotation marks, and after the end of the dialogue tags. Note also that both "said" and "and" are uncapitalized. That's because this is all one big sentence, which ends with the period.) "I'm saying words," Jane said. "You are reading them." "I'm saying words," said Jane. "You are reading them." (Note the comma at the end of the first part of the statement, inside the quotation marks, but the period after the dialogue tags. That's because this is one sentence. The next line of dialogue is a new complete sentence, so the first word is capitalized.)

Enclose all* dialogue inside quotation marks.

Correct: "I'm saying words," Jane said. Incorrect: I'm saying words, Jane said.

*There are some stylistic reasons for not using quotation marks, including if you want to distinguish speach from other forms of communication like telepathy, but it should be intentional, and unless it's done well it can be super hard to read.

Only have one person speak per paragraph.

Correct: "I'm saying words," Jane said. "And I'm reading them," Tom said. Incorrect: "I'm saying words," Jane said. "And I'm reading them," Tom said.

Keep a person's name with the line they're speaking.*

Correct: "I'm saying words," Jane said. Tom smiled. "And I'm reading them." Incorrect: "I'm saying words." Tom smiled. "And I'm reading them."

*This is another one of those ones where there can be stylistic reasons to break from it, but you need to be careful, because it can become very confusing.

[aromanticduck]

Look, I hate obnoxiously try-hard purple prose as much as the next person. However, and I say this as someone with Actual Autism, some readers are pedantically literal in how they interpret language.

For example, I sometimes see people complain about things like 'hissed' and 'growled' in dialogue tags, because humans don't make those particular sounds. That's technically true, but those words aren't meant to be taken as actual animal sounds when they're describing human speech. A hiss is a harsh whisper - quiet but forceful. A growl is low-pitched, aggressive speech with vocal fry. 'Growled' and 'hissed' are stronger, more concise ways of describing those things. Maybe you don't like those words, that's fine - it's just not fair to say they don't make sense when you're only considering one very rigid interpretation.

[if-not-now-tell-me-when]

Prompt: share a section of dialogue that we like from our own work! It can be funny, sad, ridiculous, mysterious, plot-centric or just characters shooting the breeze…anything! And it can be from a WIP or a posted fic! It can be short or long! Let’s celebrate our beloveds having a chat.

Tagged by @outpastthebrakers 💛💛💛

This is a dialogue snippet from my Titanic WIP, Between Yesterday and Tomorrow. This is from chapter 4 which isn't published yet, but if you want to read there's 3 chapters up so far!

___

The landscape's eerie beauty, combined with his overwhelming exhaustion of body and spirit, create the sensation of being inside an inescapable dream.

Rostron’s voice is unbearably somber when he speaks. "We've made four or five circuits of the wreckage now, looking for any signs of life. And I choose my words carefully when I ask, do you believe there is any hope for finding more survivors?”

Charles immediately shakes his head, his stomach twisting as he is forced to dash the valiant Captain's hopes. “No, Sir. Such cold water... it hits you like a thousand knives being driven into your body. Immediately steals all the breath from your lungs. I’m afraid I must say that there is no hope any man could still be alive after all this time.”

Rostron nods, one hand clutching his cap to his chest as he runs the other through his graying hair. “Right. Of course. It…was a vain hope. I see that I allowed that hope to overpower the little sense I have left."

Charles turns toward him. “If I may speak freely, Sir?” he asks.

Rostron lets out a small yet hearty laugh. “Mr. Lightoller, I would expect no less of you. After all that you have endured, and the courageous actions you have taken in service to your crew. Not to mention that your propensity to speak openly is well known on the Atlantic run.”

___

Tagging: @andiwriteordie @hunter-sylvester @itsfreakingbats and anyone else who wants to do it!

[scintillatingslime]

Slime Writes: Effective and Dynamic Dialogue Tags and Action Beats

A dialogue tag is text associated with dialogue that indicates who the speaker is, and/or how the dialogue was spoken.

An action beat is actions your character's actions (both internal and external). When paired with dialogue, action beats can also indicate who's speaking.

In the following examples, the green text is the dialogue tag. The purple text is an action beat.

"It's not natural," he said. She shook her head and laughed. "It's perfectly normal." "You just plug it in?" Johnny interrupted.

Dialogue tags are useful tools to ensure that the reader always knows who is speaking. If a conversation goes on for too long without a tag, the reader might have to start counting back to remember who's talking - and you never want that.

Here are a few notes on using dialogue tags effectively.

Action beats can effectively replace said/asked phrases, and tend to make a more dynamic and lifelike scene.

An action beat is actions your characters take.

If dialogue tags tend to look like this:

He says, "sorry, I'm retired." "Are you sure you won't help?" she asked.

Then action beats tend to look like this:

"Sorry, I'm retired." He shrugs. She rubs the back of her neck. "Are you sure you won't help?"

You don't need an action beat and a dialogue tag. You also don't need an action beat for every line of dialogue - just like you don't need a regular tag for every single line.

Action beats are also a great place to tuck in characterization, internalization, and descriptions.

"Sorry, I'm retired." He shrugs. It's slow and heavy, like he hasn't slept in twenty years. The light at the end of the hallway flickers and she rubs the back of her neck without thinking - and regrets it. Why is she always so fidgety? But she can't give up now. Not like this. "Are you sure you won't help?"

Dialogue tags can slow down a scene, but action beats can really clutter it up. Ask yourself if your action beat is adding anything new to a scene, or just repeating the same information over and over.

Myckenzzie's eyes fill with tears. "No, I can never go back." "But you can't stay here." She shakes her head, eyes damp with sorrow. "You don't understand." "Of course I understand. It's just a bench warrant, baby. We can get it taken care of. I'll help bail you out." "It's not a bench warrant! It's... it's a gang thing, okay?" she cries, salt water rolling down her cheeks.

(You might also find that if you keep repeating the same beats, you end up using silly, thesaurus-grabby terms. If your scene starts with crying and ends with an outpouring of sorrow-inspired oceanic dew, consider this dropping some of the emotional beats.)

If it's already obvious who's speaking, you don't need a dialogue tag.

In this example, the dialogue tag is unnecessary - the action beat already does it's job.

Johnny waved his hand and interrupted. "You just plug it in?" he asked.

Check to see if you can remove any dialogue tags without removing meaning. If you don't include the he asked, the meaning of the text stays the same - it just has fewer filler words to slow readers down.

It's also okay to go for a few lines without directly indicating who's speaking.

Johnny waved his hand and interrupted. "You just plug it in?" Susanna nods. "You port it right into your brainjack. It's totally safe." "I'm not so sure. What if it has a virus?" "There's no virus, trust me. I checked it out myself." "Alright, but... my backup drive is broken. If this goes wrong, I might be kaput." "Trust me," she says.

If you're good at giving your characters a unique voice, you may be able to go on for longer stretches without needing to indicate who's speaking.

If tone is already indicated, you don't need to staple tone indicators onto your dialogue tags.

The way you set up your scene will give the reader a lot of information about how things are being said. Trust the reader to understand how the characters are speaking. Consider the following:

Tanya slams the door. "I don't know! I don't know, okay? And I'm sick and tired of telling you the same thing over and over." Gerome's arms are crossed and a muscle in his jaw flexes. "I knew it. You've been lying to me this whole time." She whirls around like a wolf ready to charge. "Give me my phone back, Gerome. I'm done with this and I'm done with you."

Now, let's go back and add tone indicators - just in case the reader didn't pick up on the emotional beats.

Tanya slams the door. "I don't know! I don't know, okay? And I'm sick and tired of telling you the same thing over and over," she screams. Gerome's arms are crossed and a muscle in his jaw flexes. "I knew it. You've been lying to me this whole time," he spits with anger in his voice.She whirls around like a wolf ready to charge. "Give me my phone back, Gerome. I'm done with this and I'm done with you." Her voice warbles with sadness and rage.

The second version is clunkier and delivers the same information twice - but it's a bit worse than that, since we've taken away the lovely spaces the readers could have used to fill in the scene in an organic way. Now, if the reader had imagined Tanya as being reserved and stoic, they're forced to hear her screaming and warbling.

Conversely, if your scene is feeling a little limp, consider stripping out dialogue tags and replacing them with action beats instead.

Don't pull out your thesaurus for dialogue tags.

"I love ice cream!" she beams. "No, you can't have seconds," he chortles. "But I want extra dessert," she pouts. "Then you can get a degree in business and become the CEO of Monopolized Ice Cream International," he guffaws. "Well, I already got a degree in business law, so maybe I'll just sue you for that ice cream!" she giggles.

Using too many flashy words for dialogue tags can make your passages seem melodramatic and over-acted, like Power Rangers making huge, exaggerated movements.

[sidehustlesprompts]

"I'm so sick of you!"

"Kiss me."

[em-dash-press]

Dialogue Tag Options Other Than "Said"

Writing "said" repeatedly in creative writing projects isn't necessarily bad. "Said" can be an excellent tool to support the flow of your prose. It can function like picture frames on a wall. It adds to your manuscript, but your readers may only read the whole dialogue tag occasionally.

Still, there can definitely be times when "said" gets used too many times in a row. Descriptive dialogue tags can add tension, variety, and depth to crucial moments in your manuscript.

Need a creative boost? Here's an extensive list of dialogue tag options besides "said."

Dialogue Tag Alternatives to "Said"

Acknowledged

Added

Agonized

Agreed

Announced

Apologized

Approved

Articulated

Asserted

Babbled

Backtracked

Bawled

Beamed

Began

Blubbered

Blurted

Bubbled

Called

Chattered

Cheered

Chimed in

Chortled

Chuckled

Commented

Communicated

Conferred

Congratulated

Complimented

Considered

Contended

Cried

Crooned

Declared

Denoted

Drawled

Elaborated

Emitted

Ended

Enunciated

Exclaimed

Expounded

Expressed

Giggled

Greeted

Grinned

Groaned

Gushed

Interjected

Jabbered

Joked

Laughed

Mentioned

Moaned

Mumbled

Noted

Observed

Orated

Persisted

Praised

Predicted

Pronounced

Quipped

Recited

Reckoned

Rejoiced

Related

Remarked

Repeated

Replied

Responded

Sang

Screeched

Shared

Slurred

Stated

Smiled

Snarled

Spat

Suggested

Swore

Thanked

Tittered

Told

Trilled

Urged

Uttered

Yammered

Yelled

Vocalized

Voiced

Other Helpful Resources

Need more inspiration? Here are a few other sources you can check out:

350 Other Words Than Said

Different Words to Use Instead of Said

500 Dialogue Tags Examples

Should You Always Use Dialogue Tags?

You don't have to! Conversations often happen in all genres of creative writing without constant dialogue tags. Once you establish who's saying what, you can format a conversation like this:

"You don't know what you're talking about," Joe said.

"Of course I do," Lucy replied, rolling her eyes. "I only got a Ph. D. in Chemistry."

"From one of the worst universities in the country."

"It's still accredited."

"Your thesis advisor was just arrested for academic fraud!"

"And yet I still passed all my finals."

You can keep up with who's saying what and the tone behind their voices without a tag for each line of dialogue. I wouldn't recommend doing that with every conversation (especially extensive ones) but you can take a break from tags if people are talking rapidly back and forth or if you just want to take a break.

---

You'll know how to handle dialogue tags and descriptors as you practice. Reading your manuscript out loud can also point out when they're clunky or unnecessary. There's a necessary balance to making tags that you'll find more easily with each draft!

[stanningjay2]

When discussing the “rules” of dialogue tags you must remember that it’s not always the author’s intent to indicate a literal sound, it’s more the ~*VIBES*~ of the WORD of the sound. The spirit of the law vs the letter of the law if u will.

This is very important to me for readers to understand because I love to write grown ass adults mewling while getting tenderly railed by their soulmate.

Ex: snarl, hiss, growl, mewl, whimper

[shapedforfighting]

'Said' vs. Synonyms: How to use both as dialogue tags

'Said' vs. Synonyms: How to use both as dialogue tags. #writingadvice #writingtips #writingcommunity #writerscafe

Disclaimer: the following writing advice is based on the author’s personal experience of writing fiction and does not represent any hard or fast rules. Your mileage may vary. Heated debate rampages across the online writing community as to which dialogue tag is morally, ethically, and mechanically correct to use: ‘said’ or one of its many synonyms. Use all the alternatives! Never deviate from…

[decaffespresso]

Just wondering if you're allowed to do this

blah blah blah unrelated text that has nothing to do with the following scene.

"Hey, Ring"

"Hello, Gold. How have you been today?"

_____________________________

Like, do you have to put in dialogue tags at all?

[rozmorris]

Everyone says: why the rule about dialogue tags isn’t cast iron

I’ve seen dialogue tags discussed a few times recently on writing forums. The discussion goes like this. ‘When writing a piece of dialogue, do you need synonyms for “said”? Doesn’t it get boring for the reader? What about words with a bit more expression, such as exclaimed or spat or shouted or yelled?’  ‘Noooo,’ comes the reply, overwhelmingly. ‘Only use “said”.’  I agree, mostly. I also…

[gridleyfires]

A Damn Fine First Novel

The 6th Lamentation, by William Brodrick My late wife came across this paperback sometime early in our stay in North Carolina. I don’t think she read it – never saw it in her hands. There were at least three familial book purges since her death, and every time this one surfaced, I became intrigued enough with its cover, title, and blurbs to put it back on the shelf or in the mover box. And so,…