Many writers love the word “said”. They use it for every piece of dialogue they can. However, “said” can be overused.
Reading “said” gives the reader nothing about the story. But there are other words that expand the story, letting the reader know more about the characters and plot. These other dialogue tags include:
- Announced
- Boasted
- Commented
- Declared
- Exclaimed
- Explained
- Remarked
- Replied
- Shouted
- Stated
- Teased
- Whispered
- Yelled
There’s much more power in “‘I hid the body,’ he whispered” or “‘I hid the body,’ he boasted” than “‘I hid the body,’ he said”.
These words, however, can be overused too. Make sure to not use the same dialogue tags over and over. You can use “said” every once in a while.
There’s always a battle between using “said” too much or not enough at all. It all comes down to personal preference though. If you feel “said” is too much or not at all, it’s time for a switch-a-roo with dialogue tags.
I use said mostly. Readers are almost blind to it, and although I find there are occasionally times that I need more than ‘said’ I always question myself. Like adverbs, using anything but ‘said’ can sound clumsy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can see what you mean about it sounding clumsy. Most readers, who just read and don’t write on the side, don’t notice “said” as much. But “said” is like a word they skip over and don’t read at all. I’d rather put a word that has an impact sometimes rather than always writing a word they skip. But yeah, if you use other dialogue tags too much (especially unfamiliar ones), it can sound super clumsy.
LikeLike