"Said is dead," proclaimed an infographic I just scrolled past on Pinterest. It boasted several replacements for the old standard of dialogue tags, including words like "interjected," "dictated," and "chortled."
Hmm, I pontificated. I think this is blog-worthy.
What are dialogue tags?
A dialogue tag is the part of a line of dialogue that tells you who's speaking. Tags help readers keep up with the conversations going on in your book. And despite what our infographic-designing pinner believes, simple tags still work very well.
I think some writers like to use a variety of tags because they're trying to avoid being repetitive. Generally speaking, that is a good idea--you do want to avoid repetition when you're writing. This is an exception, though. A dialogue tag's job is to guide a reader through a conversation, and they work best when they're subtle. If tags are too obvious, they can stand out more than the actual dialogue, which is distracting. They can also create a filter between the reader and the story, so it feels like you're telling the reader how the characters are talking instead of giving them a chance to imagine it on their own.
Words like "said" and "asked" are so basic that they're almost invisible. They do the job without getting in the way, and you shouldn't be afraid to rely on them. If the scene calls for it, you might throw in "whispered," or "shouted," or something along those lines. The key is to keep it simple for the most part. Save things like "he thundered triumphantly," for special occasions becase that sort of thing can get annoying fast.
Avoid repetition with action beats
You don't have to use a dialogue tag every time a character says something. You can punctuate your conversations with action beats, which will also help add movement to the scene. If it's a fast-paced scene, replacing some of the dialogue tags with action beats might increase the tension. Here's an example:
"Blah blah blah," John said as he holstered his gun. "Let's go."
"Blah blah blah." John holstered his gun. "Let's go."
It's a small change, but it makes a difference, doesn't it? Why not replace a few dialogue tags in your current WIP with action beats and see how it goes?
Think of it as a balancing act
Holding an entire conversation between characters and using only tags will get choppy and repetitive. But if you only use action beats, your scene might start to drag. You've got to strike a balance between tags and action, and I think how you do that is going to depend on the kind of story you're trying to tell.
Finally, keep an eye on your adverbs
I'm not here to hate on adverbs, but they can make your dialogue tags redundant if you're not careful. I sometimes see writers use things like "she shouted loudly," or "he whispered softly," and it's getting to be a bit of a pet peeve. Shouting is naturally loud, just as whispering is soft, so you don't need those modifiers.
Look for examples if you need them
If you're struggling with this concept, get out some of your favorite books and just read a page or two. Look at how the authors denote their dialogue and think about how you might incorporate those techniques into your own writing.
Dialogue tags aren't worth sweating, to me, in a rough draft. I think it's easy to fix in a revision. Of course, no two people write the same way, so that might be different for you. Research, practice, and see what you come up with. Pontificate.