One of the fastest ways to tell a book was self-published, or a fanfiction was written quickly, is to look at the dialogue tags.
Now, of course, most self-published books use dialogue tags well. Many authors either do their research and know the proper syntax, or hire a professional editor, or both—but not all. And the ones who don’t? Well… The proof is in the pudding.
I hate to be a negative Nancy here, but not all dialogue tags were created equal. Some are fantastic, some are mediocre, and some are just plain bad. However, there is one dialogue tag that rises above the rest when it comes to brevity and clarity: said.
Yes. My favorite dialogue tag is “said.”
Before we dive into why I never have and never will jump on the “said is dead” bandwagon, first thing’s first:
What are dialogue tags?
The most complete definition of a dialogue tag (or speech tag) I can think of is, “a phrase that comes before or after something is said to indicate which character spoke and how they delivered the line.” I’ve included some examples here; the dialogue tags are underlined.
“Will you go to the store today?” she asked.
He shrugged. “It might be better to go tomorrow.”
Frowning, she said, “If we wait until tomorrow, we’ll run out of toilet paper.”
It’s important to note that not every phrase that comes before or after a line of speech is a dialogue tag. More on that later.
Why isn’t “said” dead?
I’m not saying said isn’t dead just to be controversial. There are two main factors to said’s usefulness: it’s brief, and its meaning is clear.
“Said” is brief
To give you an idea of why I like the word “said” so much (or its present tense equivalent, as the case may be), I’ve included an exercise I worked on in a creative writing class in high school. Now, of course, it is by no means a great example of fine literature—it was merely a flash fiction draft I kind of took and ran with—but hopefully you’ll pick up what I’m putting down when it comes to dialogue tags.
Did you notice the dialogue tags? I’m willing to bet they didn’t stick out to you all that much—partly because half of them weren’t even there (remember, you don’t always need a dialogue tag). The other reason the dialogue tags don’t stand out? Other than “call out,” every tag is simply “says.” I didn’t use anything fancy when writing this piece because I didn’t need to; I wrote enough to indicate who was speaking and get my point across, and I left it at that.
The lovely thing about the word “said” is that your eye skips over it while reading; it’s not a flashy word by any standard. Instead of bogging down your reader with language they may not typically come into contact with, you allow the reader’s eye to skate right over the dialogue tag. This way, they can pick up on who is speaking while allowing them to focus primarily on what is being said. Which brings me to my next point:
Other dialogue tags carry different meanings
When you stray from simple words like “said,” “asked,” and “shouted,” you run the risk of using a word that carries a connotation you or your reader aren’t/isn’t familiar with. Replacing “shouted” with “ejaculated” is my favorite example (I think I’m actually twelve).
Here’s the thing though—if your brain went somewhere dirty upon reading that, I guarantee you your reader’s went there, too. Some other words that frequently make it onto the “said is dead” lists include, but are not limited to:
- intoned
- chuckled
- mumbled
- admitted
- sighed
…And plenty more I don’t want to name, lest you start over-using them in your own prose. (If you’re dead-set on using a word that isn’t “said” in every dialogue tag, Google “said is dead.” Just please don’t ask me to read the results.)
A quick word on using words like “sighed” or “laughed” (or any variation thereof) in your dialogue tags:
These are a pet peeve of mine. More often than not, you don’t speak while laughing or sighing, you speak in between breaths while doing these things. My personal preference is to avoid using these as a dialogue tag, and instead use them in the description that surrounds said dialogue. Use them at your own risk.
That said, don’t feel like you need to avoid using these words in your dialogue tags—just use them sparingly. It’s good to spice up your prose, as long as you don’t over-do it. You don’t want to make your piece tedious for your reader to get through.
What SHOULD a dialogue tag look like?
So now that we know what a dialogue tag is, and how to effectively bog down the reader with them, how do we put together a good dialogue tag?
First, know the correct syntax.
- If the dialogue tag comes after the dialogue itself, end the dialogue with a comma and don’t capitalize the tag.
CORRECT: “I love to read,” she said.
INCORRECT: “I love to read.” She said. - If the dialogue ends with a question mark or exclamation point, you still don’t capitalize the tag.
CORRECT: “I love to read!” she shouted.
INCORRECT: “I love to read!” She shouted. (This would be correct if the shouting was a separate action from the exclamation of, “I love to read!” In that case, however, it is a separate sentence and no longer a dialogue tag.) - If you’re going to use a dialogue tag before the dialogue, put the comma after the tag and end the dialogue with a period (or another appropriate punctuation mark).
CORRECT: She said, “I love to read.”
INCORRECT: She said “I love to read.”
VERY INCORRECT: She said. “I love to read.” - No matter what, the dialogue punctuation goes inside the quotation marks.
CORRECT: “That’s the right thing to do,” she wrote.
INCORRECT: “This sets my eyeballs on fire”, she admitted.
Second, know which words you want in the dialogue tag, and why.
- In general, dialogue tags contain a name or pronoun, because they tell us who is speaking.
EXAMPLE: “These rules are hard to remember,” Jackie said. - Use special words when things are said in special ways. Uncommon words should be used when the character says something in a way that the actual dialogue (the words themselves) would not convey.
EXAMPLE: “You’re a horrible person,” he whispered. - Otherwise, use “said” or an equivalent word. Remember, boring doesn’t always mean bad—it means your audience can get on with reading the story. Words like “shouted” and “asked” are slightly less inconspicuous when compared to “said,” but they get the job done when they accompany the corresponding punctuation.
EXAMPLE: “Dinner’s ready!” she shouted. - Consider not using a dialogue tag at all, especially if it’s the middle of a conversation between two people and we already know who is saying what. As I mentioned earlier, dialogue tags aren’t always necessary.
EXAMPLE:
“I thought you said you put the chicken in the oven,” Susan said.
Dan shook his head. “You said to take it out to thaw.”
“I said put it in the oven.”
“Well, honey, the chicken is not in the oven. What now?”
“Now, I am going to take a nice, hot shower, and you are going to preheat the damn oven.”
Dialogue tags may seem confusing at first, but as long as you keep these points in mind, using them in your own work will be a breeze. If you ever get confused, my best advice is to simply pick up the first book you come across—preferably one that definitely went through a professional editor—and study the dialogue as it is written there. And of course, if you’re looking for more grammar/syntax advice, be sure to check out my post on using colons and semicolons; they’re not as scary as you think.
How do you feel about dialogue tags? Do you feel comfortable using “said,” or do you avoid it at all costs? Tell me why in the comments—I’d love to hear from you. And, as always, happy writing!
