I will stand by this statement until the day I die. And I say that as a writer who once scoured the internet looking for synonyms of “said,” picking the fluffiest, most nonsensical ones of all. It’s a common pitfall of new writers.

But here’s the truth: all you need is “said.” Your writing should do the rest.

Why most alternative dialogue tags are bad writing

Many alternative tags writers use are flat-out incorrect. Others are simply unnecessary or repetitive of what is put in between the quotations. I’ll break this down into two parts: the incorrect tags and the redundant tags.

Incorrect alternative dialogue tags

There are a lot of things you can’t do simultaneously, but many writers pretend you can.

For example, take the vers sigh, breathe, and chuckle. I see writers use these as dialogue tags all the time. Like so:

Have you ever actually tried to talk while letting out a big sigh or taking a deep breath? If you’ve somehow mastered the art of talking while doing any of those, congratulations. You’re quite special.

Most of us, however, don’t laugh or sigh and talk at the same time.

Maybe you want to vary your dialogue tags. Fair enough. There are other, more interesting ways to do that. Maybe you want to use an alternative tag to convey a specific tone. Okay. Here’s how we could revise the dialogue using the verbs sigh, breathe, and chuckle as inspiration.

You might be thinking why do you have to be so technical? People get what I mean when I use “chuckle” instead of “said.”

Well, do you want your writing to be grammatically and logistically correct? I cringe when I see dialogue tags that are physically impossible for a real person to do. Maybe it doesn’t bother you. And that’s okay.

But I think we can all agree that the second iteration of the dialogue is at least more interesting. Each line reads a little bit differently. The characters are doing things, not just saying things. And there’s a good mix of dialogue tag usage.

Plus, I think it’s way more fun to try and avoid tags. I usually let myself have two or three in a long conversation between characters. Other than that, I try to use action beats or no tags. This practice challenges me as a writer to really think through what my characters are saying, how they are saying it, and whether dialogue is needed at all.  

Dialogue tags that are completely unnecessary

This one might be overlooked in your writing. I’ve caught myself a time or two doing this very thing. Using a dialogue tag that is redundant of the punctuation you put in between the quotations.

For example:

“Don’t do that!” she exclaimed.

Doesn’t it seem obvious when you look at it in isolation? You don’t need both the exclamation point and the dialogue tag that tells us the character exclaimed something. They are redundant. And I would argue that if you want to convey this sense of excitement or urgency, you keep the exclamation point but either remove the dialogue tag or use “said.”

Like this:

“Don’t do that!” she said.

This might seem wrong or unnatural if you’re not used to the way it reads. Contemporary fiction often isn’t written like this. But here’s the thing. The exclamation point tells us exactly how the character said “don’t do that.” She used emphasis, urgency, volume. That’s what an exclamation point means! We don’t need an extra word telling us again how she said those words.

I’ll be honest, questions are a bit more complex, and as I was writing this, I went back and forth on my opinion of tagging questions with “ask” versus “said.” Initially, I thought always use said because the question mark and the tag “ask” are redundant. But then I did some digging into my own stories and found that I wasn’t exactly consistent with my own worldview here.

Most of the time, I would say don’t tag your questions at all. Establish that two characters are already talking before introducing a question. Sometimes that’s unavoidable. I think it then comes down to whether your character is asking a question sincerely or spitballing a hypothetical. Use “said” if they aren’t asking a genuine question. Use “ask” if they are.

How to level up your dialogue

Alright, I’ve harped on bad dialogue writing enough. Let’s dive into some ways to improve your writing without falling into any of the above-mentioned traps.

Use action beats

Action beats pair dialogue with an action to show what a character is doing before, during, or after their dialogue. You can use action beats instead of a dialogue tag to mark which character is speaking.

I particularly enjoy action beats because they can say a lot with few words. It’s a great way to “show” readers what is happening in the story without flat-out telling us.

For example:

The preceding action beats give us a good sense of the tone of the scene. We see how the characters respond to one another, their subtle movements that hint at what they might be feeling in that moment.

Limit your dialogue tags

Try writing a scene of dialogue with no tags. Go back and read it. Can’t tell the difference between the characters? Add one or two tags (and maybe give your characters more distinction?).

As you continue to write dialogue, set a limit for yourself. Say, if you write half a page or more of dialogue, give yourself two dialogue tags. If you write less, only use one. Find a balance that works for you.

Typically, you only need introductory tags to distinguish between two or more speakers.

For example:

“I brought those magazines you wanted,” Charles said.
“What magazines?” Sarah said.
“The interior design ones. You said you needed them for the bathroom remodel.”
“Jesus. I told you about that months ago. And you just now remembered?”

You could go on for a while without using a tag once you know who is talking. In general, less is more here. (I also used “said” to tag Sarah’s question to show that she’s not all that interested in an answer.)

Use a combination of tags, action beats, and no tags

Get creative with your dialogue scenes. Practice switching between action beats, tags, and no tags. This kind of variation is exciting for readers and, ideally, fun for you!

Example:

Jon picked up the notebook. “Hey, Jen, I think you dropped this.”
Jen turned around, her pupils wide. That was, indeed, her diary. “Oh, yes. Thank you,” she said.
“No problem.”
Jen turned to go.
“Um,” Jon said. “Are you free this Friday? There’s this movie I’d like to go see.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t.” As Jen picked up her pace, she could feel Jon’s eyes burning into her back.

Variety wins every time. If you’re not already doing this in your writing, it’s time to start.

Are there any exceptions?

I’m not saying that you can’t ever use an alternative dialogue tag. There are many verbs you can use that make sense and might be necessary for a scene. In most cases, however, you don’t need to use anything other than “said.”

But I’ll give you a few exceptions that I think are valid reasons to use an alternative dialogue tag.

1. A character is out of sight and is yelling from far away. Use tags like “scream” or “yell” or “call out” as said wouldn’t convey the character’s distance adequately and might be confusing.

Okay, this might be the only valid situation I can think of.

If you absolutely must use an alternative dialogue tag, use one that makes sense. Choose verbs that you would normally use to describe the tone and inflection of someone speaking. For instance, shouting, yelling, whispering, etc.

Final thoughts on dialogue tags

At the end of the day, I don’t think your dialogue tag is as important as what you put between the quotations. That’s ultimately why I don’t think anyone needs to use any tag other than “said.” Because the true meat of dialogue is what your characters actually say. Their words should convey everything we need to know – their tone, their intention, their personality. You shouldn’t be relying on dialogue tags to do that work all the time.

Question of the day:
Do you agree or disagree that “said” is the only dialogue tag you need?