“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?”
