You wouldn’t think dialogue tags would be something worth fighting over. But day after day I watch aspiring writers in Facebook writing groups rip each other’s throats out over this seemingly benign topic.

This passionate reaction to something that almost all books contain begs the question: is there truly a right way to write dialogue tags?

Today, I’ll examine that question as well as walk you through some tips and tricks for writing dialogue that even most of those on the dialogue-tag-extremes would be happy to read.

Before We Begin: The Laws of Creativity

I want to preface this entire article with one note that is extremely important for all aspiring writers to understand.

There are a lot of people out there who like to talk about the rules of writing. Debating dialogue tags is one area where you are certain to hear about rules–about right and wrong.

But here’s the thing, writing fiction is a creative process. Do you hear me? C-R-E-A-T-I-V-E.

What do you think would’ve happened if, when Jackson Pollock first sat down at his canvas, someone started reciting the RULES of painting to him? The art world certainly would have been less interesting in the early 1900s.

If all painters followed the same set of rules, then the only paintings we’d have would be renaissance portraits (or cave doodles?).

The point is, there are no concrete rules for writing fiction. Anyone who tells you there are isn’t creative enough to change the world with their writing (and that’s fine, too).

Sure, there are many guidelines you probably should follow (grammar, punctuation, tense, point of view, etc.). But even these can be skewed and broken. In fact, many of the most noteworthy authors are famous because they messed with the “rules.”

All this is to say, when I talk about the best way to write dialogue tags, I am talking about guidelines. NOT rules. Remember that.

What Is a Dialogue Tag?

If you don’t know, a dialogue tag is a set of words attached to a quote that defines who is speaking.

• “I’ll be right there,” Jim said.
• I whispered into her ear, “I was lying.”
• “What is that?” she asked. “It smells disgusting.”
• “Wait,” Jane said, “you want me to do what?”

Dialogue tags are sometimes necessary to help the reader understand who is speaking. But that is about the only part of this mundane topic that most people can seem to agree on.

What Kind of Dialogue Tags Are Okay to Use?

There are two main schools of thought on this subject.

The first says the only dialogue tag you should ever use is “said” (and maybe “asked”).

The other says you should get as creative as possible. “Screamed,” “spat,” “hissed,” and, yes, the famed, “ejaculated.”

Personally, I hate repetition, so the idea of using “said” exclusively makes my skin crawl.

"She went to the diner," Jack said.
"No, it was the theater," Jane said.
"In either case, she got home early," Jack said.
"No, she wasn't home until nine at the earliest," Jane said.

See what I mean? Boring and repetitive.

But, that doesn’t mean you should get too crazy with dialogue tags either. In fact, really flashy tags are often indicative of lazy writing.

For example, instead of writing dialogue or action that shows the speaker is hurt or angry, you might use a tag to tell the reader that–“she cried,” “she snapped.” That doesn’t mean that there aren’t times when these tags are effective, it just means you should only use them when they are truly necessary.

This is what our example dialogue would look like with flashy tags:

"She went to the diner," Jack started.
"No, it was the theatre," Jane said, softly.
"In either case, she got home early," Jack growled.
"No, she wasn't home until nine at the earliest," Jane whined.

The dialogue tags in this version do make the conversation more interesting, but only slightly. And they are too distracting to improve the text, overall.

When it comes to what dialogue tags are okay to use, the answer is whatever type best fits the voice of your story.

If you are writing a really silly, dramatic, or close first-person narrative, “said” is going to seem out of place, especially if it is used frequently.

On the other hand, if you are writing a very dry literary story or using distant third person point of view, then you probably want to keep your tags simple.

Honestly, when it comes to writing good prose that flows well and sounds professional, it isn’t so much about what tags you use. It is more about how often you have to use them.

How Can You Reduce Your Use of Dialogue Tags?

There is another school of thought that says dialogue tags should be used rarely, if ever.

Again, I’m not a big fan of extremism or hard rules. But, I do believe that strong writing does not require an excess of dialogue tags.

If the dialogue itself is descriptive and necessary, then more often than not, your reader can tell who is talking. This reduces the need for simple tags like “said.”

If the dialogue is purposeful and well crafted, then there is no need to use a tag to tell the reader how the character is feeling. The words they are saying will show that emotion. When you write like this, tags like “hissed” and “wined” are unnecessary.

Cutting down on dialogue tags forces the writer to work harder to sell the scene, which results in more engaging and memorable writing.

Let’s look at some examples

When writing a simple, two person conversation, you often only need to put tags on the first two lines spoken:

"She went to the diner," Jack said.
"No, it was the theatre," Jane countered.
"In either case, she got home early."
"No, she wasn't home until nine at the earliest."

Even with only two tags, this text is easy enough to follow. Though it is still not very interesting.

To make it more interesting and, more importantly, to engage the reader, you have to step up your prose.

One way to do this is to write more descriptive and interesting dialogue:

"She wasn't home because she was at the diner," Jack said.
"Is that what she told you?" Jane asked. "I hate to be the one to break it to you, but she was at the theater."
"No, she couldn't have been. She got home early."
"Actually, she got home late. It was past nine."

You can also use action and description to make your dialogue more interesting. This even works on an otherwise mundane conversation:

"She went to the diner," Jack said.
"No." Jane's expression softened the way it always did when she was about to break some bad news. "It was the theatre."
Jack sighed. "In either case she got home early."
"No--" Jane set a warm hand on his shoulder "--she wasn't home until nine."

Either one of the two conversations above is more interesting than the previous examples. Combining strong dialogue with description and action would produce an even more engaging piece.

Everyone wants to argue about the rules of dialogue tags when the truth is, what tags you use are not nearly as important as what else you do to make the conversation engaging and easy to track.

Alternatives to Dialogue Tags

You can easily cut dialogue tags when only two people are conversing, but it gets trickier when you have three or more characters engaged in a conversation.

When this happens, you have to focus as much on writing strong prose as on helping your reader track who is speaking.

Often, the best way to do this without being repetitive is to use a combination of tags, action markers, and description.

Here are some alternatives to dialogue tags that you can use to spice up any conversation and help your reader track who is speaking.

• Action breaks: “He’s here!” Jim dove behind the couch. “Everyone hide.”
• Description: “I need to tell you something.” Jessie’s words were stilted, pained. “I am falling in love with you.”
• Internal breaks (description placed inside a sentence of dialogue that denotes a pause): “You look good. But, then again—” he leaned in and flashed a greasy smile filled with yellowed teeth “—you always have.”
• External breaks (description placed inside a sentence of dialogue that does not denote a pause): “Baby”–his voice was softer now–“I can’t do this without you.”

Like traditional dialogue tags, these alternatives should not be overused.

How much description and action surrounds your characters’ conversations should fit well with the overall tone and voice of the story. That may mean you pack your scenes with them, or it may mean you let the dialogue itself take center stage.

The Last Word on Dialogue Tags

While the guidelines above are a great place to start, especially if writing dialogue is new to you, it is important to keep in mind that there are no hard rules (despite what many social media trolls will have you believe).

Using simple dialogue tags like “said” or “asked” is a good place to start. These tags force you to show emotion and action within your dialogue and in the text that surrounds it. But using them exclusively can lead to repetition and may not be appropriate for every narrative.

Using flashy dialogue tags is sometimes warranted and, often, they work better when the narrative style is fun or non-traditional. But they shouldn’t be used in place of good description or strong dialogue.

Dialogue tag alternatives are a great way to make your writing more engaging and avoid repetition, but even they can be overused.

Bottom line: Your focus should be on writing strong dialogue, description, and action. When you do this, the dialogue tag controversy becomes much less important.

We know you have an opinion on dialogue tags (everyone seems to!). Let us know what it is by commenting below!