Self Publishing Today

There is one word to search for – “said”. Not because it’s bad in itself – in fact it’s the one speech tag you should use! In case you don’t know, a speech tag is, “he said”, “she said”, “he shouted” etc.

Once upon a time, we were told to think up clever alternatives to “said” (he replied, he retorted, he interjected etc). Nowadays, that’s taboo! “Said” is the best word to use because it’s an “invisible word” – readers gloss over it without even noticing it. You should only use an alternative word if it tells the reader how something has been said (e.g. he whispered, he shouted, he muttered).

However, even though “said” is invisible, it’s still better if you can avoid using a tag altogether – and that’s the reason for the search.

You can do using a tag by using context to make it clear who’s speaking.

For instance if you’re writing a paragraph from your hero’s point of view, you don’t need a “he said” because the reader knows who’s speaking. If there are only two people in the scene and the other person speaks, you don’t need a “he said” for that one either, e.g.:

Nathan handed Katie the documents, reflecting that she was looking as cute as ever. If only he could trust her. And where was her partner in crime? It was well past their appointment time. He crossed to the window and leaned out.“Where the devil is he?”

As you can see, it’s obvious who’s talking. However, if it’s a long conversation, it’s a good idea to drop in the odd “he said” or “she said” occasionally. Or use a beat (a short description to show what the person is doing while they’re talking), e.g.

Katie shrugged in exasperation. “How should I know?”

These edits will make your dialogue flow much better and sound more realistic.

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