Song of the day: “She Said” – The Beatles
Repeatedly reading the same dialogue tag can get tedious. Given that the average human knows over 25,000 words, there is no reason to rely on any of them.
Below is a list of dialogue tags to keep handy for those moments when you have heard or seen the word said too many times. There is a catch though. Many grammarians will tell you the proper way to write a sentence is, “‘Stop it!’ she said, assertively.” and not “‘Stop it!’ she asserted.” The reason is that you cannot assert with your voice, but you can speak while sounding assertive. However, since creative dialogue tags can add life to a story, many editors feel that grammarians should look the other way.
Got some more great tags? Do you have any tips for not sounding like you are constantly rewriting The Beatles? Please let me know in the comments.
Need some help punctuating that dialogue? Check out this page on LitReactor.
acclaimed
accused
added
admitted
agreed
announced
answered
argued
asked
asserted
avowed
babbled
barked
bawled
beckoned
beseeched
begged
belched
bellowed
bid (him/her/it)
blubbered
blurted
boasted
boomed
bragged
breathed
cackled
called
carried on
chastised
chattered (on)
chimed
chocked
chorused (in a group or in agreement)
chuckled
claimed
clarified
coached
commanded
compared
complained
condescends
confessed
confided
continued
countered
cried
croaked
decided
declared
demanded
denied
denounced
derived
described
disagreed
droned
exclaimed
explained
figured
filtered
fretted
fussed
gabbed
gasped
giggled
grizzled
groaned
growled
grumbled
gurgled
gushed
hassled
hinted
hissed
hollered
howled
huffed
inform
illustrated
implored
indicated
inquired
insisted
inspected
interfered
interjected
interrogated
interrupted
intervened
jabbered (on)
jested
joked
justified
jollied
lamented
laughed
lied
mentioned
moaned
mumbled
murmured
mused
muttered
nagged
objected
ordered
persisted
persuaded
pestered
plead
posed
praised
prattled on
prayed
preached
pressed
pressured
pried
proclaimed
proposed
pronounced
protested
purred
quoted
queried
questioned
quipped
rambled
ranted
raved
reasoned
rejected
related
remarked
repeated
replied
requested
resisted
responded
retorted
revealed
rewarded
roared
said
screamed
screeched
shouted
showed
shrieked
sided
sighed
smiled
smirked
snapped
snarled
sneered
snickered
sobbed
spoke
sputtered
squabbled
squawked
squeaked
stammered
stated
stuttered
suggested
sung
supported
tempted
thought aloud
trembled
told (him, her, it)
urged
uttered
voiced
voted
wailed
warned
whimpered
whined
whispered
wished
worried
yammered
yawned
yelled
yelped