Who Said That?

Dialog tags are those words following quotations telling the reader who is speaking. It’s the “he said, she said, Mary said, Bob said” that helps you follow a conversation between or among characters. These tags are almost unnoticeable, unless the writer doesn’t use them and gives you no way to figure out who is talking.

The use of too many dialogue tags can be annoying or can give writing an choppy or simplistic feel, which is good if that’s what the writer wants. Sometimes dialogue tags are unnecessary, because the reader knows enough about the characters and the scene to discern who is talking.

A common technique is to have a character’s words within quotation marks, then follow what they said with a sentence or more about what the character is thinking or doing, and possibly end with another spoken sentence. For example: “It’s such a beautiful November day.” Ellen opened the bedroom window and took a deep breath. “I love the smell of late fall, especially when it’s seventy degrees outside.”

As you are reading, check out the author’s techniques for having their character’s talk to one another. It’s a challenge to get the talking to sound natural without the reader having to ask, “Who said that?”