“Said” is not dead (but here are its friends)

Some students are taught to avoid “said” completely, so every line becomes “exclaimed”, “retorted” or “proclaimed”. This makes dialogue exhausting. The truth is more balanced.

Why “said” works

“Said” is almost invisible. Readers’ eyes slide past it to the dialogue itself, which is exactly what you want most of the time.

When another verb helps

Use a different verb when it adds information the dialogue cannot show:

• Volume: whispered, muttered, shouted, called.
• Emotion: snapped, pleaded, sobbed, laughed.
• Purpose: asked, replied, admitted, insisted.

Often, no tag is best

In a conversation between two people, you can leave out tags for several lines, or use an action instead: “I’m fine.” He wiped his eyes.

Try it: download our “Retire These Words” worksheet from the Toolkit and use its “said” row to rewrite three lines of your own dialogue.