House Style Sheet  – Creating Dialogue – Part One

House Style Sheet – Creating Dialogue – Part One

“You are my world my everything,” he said. Correct use of dialogue tag.

“You are my world my everything,” he said, caressing her cheek with a fingertip.

He caressed her cheek with a fingertip. “You are my world my everything.”  Dialogue with action tag front.

“You are my world my everything.” He caressed her cheek with a fingertip. Dialogue with action tag back.

It is always best to keep dialogue tags to a minimum. Said can easily be overlooked by a reader, but other tags may cause them to stumble when reading your story. Also, too many repetitive words can make a reader annoyed.

A-Z of Suitable Dialogue Tags

accused, acknowledged, admitted, agreed, answered, argued, asked

barked, begged, bellowed, blustered, bragged

called, complained, confessed, cried

demanded, denied

growled

hinted, hissed, howled

inquired, interrupted

lied

mumbled, murmured, muttered

nagged

pleaded, promised, purred

questioned

replied, requested, retorted, roared

said, sang, screamed, screeched, shouted, snarled, sobbed

threatened, told

wailed, warned, whimpered, whined, whispered

yelled

 

Unsuitable Dialogue Tags

yawned, smiled, nodded, laughed, grinned, sighed.

 

When your dialogue tag crops up in the midst of a sentence

Incorrect: “Wait,” she said, “Are you coming over today?”

Correct:  a) “Wait,” she said. “Are you coming over today?”

b) “Wait” — she said — “are you coming over today?”