Do you agree that readers adapt to 'said' if it is used the majority of times as a voice tag? Or Do you feel a need to mix things up and prefer to use 'said, urged, beamed' or whatever else. In other words, you feel that the voice tag has relevance beyond being a device. I tend to go with said personally. I think it is a functional word that the reader does not see consciously but uses it to pick up which character is talking. I am talking about short tags here, not extended ones. Any thoughts?
Not only is 'said' unnoticed within reason, it allows the reader to infer for themselves just how a line is spoken from the character and context. It's a beautiful spark for his imagination, a much sought invisibility tonic for the writer. I can't read a tag that features a beamed, cajoled, whined, boasted, sulked... etc without being whipped right out of the story and reminded of the writer's existence. I think it's best to mix the tags with beats. The only reason tags exist is to eliminate ambiguity re: the speaker, so the use of tags should be minimal anyway. Beats may serve a higher literary purpose, of course, but can still be overdone.
I use words other than "said," but I only ever deviate with purpose, never just to break up monotony. "Said" melts into good dialog like punctuation. I do like the no adverb "rule" though. I use them as infrequently as possible. If I have to insert the word "sarcastically," I haven't established things correctly. The reader should know my character well enough to infer sarcasm. If it's too early in the story for that, I'd still prefer to illustrate it with an action or expression.
I don't use tags like that, instead favor adding action or how it is said if it needs to be noted. I never use said, or the like cause it is obvious by the dialogue " ", that something was said, so why bother stating the obvious when you can make it more interesting?
‘And what is that supposed to mean?’ asked Alex. This is a clear example. Should it be asked or said as the punctuation is a question mark? If said is invisible then the question mark can do its job, right?
'Asked' doesn't stand out as much for me, I guess because it is so neutral. I use it every now and again, but agree it is not needed.
When a tag is needed, which it isn't always use the basic ones like said, asked. , etc. If the tags sound like you are regurgitating a thesaurus then the tag WILL be niticed. If that's what you want then that's fine but if not maybe the tag should be changed. Where possible a mix of dialogue tags and action tags.
I always keep it mixed. Sometimes no tags. Sometimes said. Sometimes I break up the dialogue with an action and no tags. Sometimes I offer a little peppy tag like smirked. Anything that can help shape the scene and tone. For me anything that slips into a pattern becomes noticeable.
Said is invisible. Really stick to using it as much as possible. We're trying to write like the pros, right? Or be the pros? This is an easy thing to adopt into your writing. I would say practice using said until you don't even have to think about it. Then, in the future, if you ever do happen to catch yourself thinking about it, it might be something to think about.
When you are very, very lucky, said is invisible. Otherwise it's an uppercut on the reader, since it can be taken as a sign of carelessness. I use it as a last resource, or if when I need to keep the reader focused on something else. However, I don't always just 'say' things in real life, I whisper them, shout them, mumble them, drop them... So my characters do the same. There is only one exception - On a frantic, rushed, very bad first draft, when anything goes, but it's not a working mindset I'd recommend, unless you find yourself struggling to break free from a writer's block.
If he/she didn't "scream" it or "whisper" it, most probably he/she "said" it (or asked). Most of the times I use "said". I mean, how many times will a character "whine" something, before you get sick of him? On occasions I've also used: "spurted out", "shouted", "exclaimed", "questioned", "uttered".
Like @Cave Troll already said some posts earlier, the quotation marks already suggest somebody said something. Since he said she said is supposed to be invisible anyway I just keep it literally invisible, most times, so that leaves the he smirked or she whispered kind of stuff. Problem is, in my quest to pretend I'm a professional I've learned that using those tags just says you're an amateur. I'm not sure why explaining how a line of something sounds is amateurish, but that's what better people than I say.
All good advice and a clear example of the fact that "rules" tend to be either/or instead of and. What is the purpose of a "said" tag? One is to let the reader know who said it and another is to let the reader know how that character said it. Sometimes the "who" isn't necessary. The situation itself makes it obvious. And you can always make the who clear with something like... Betty finished her drink and turned to Rick. [Betty says something]. Rick could hear the sarcasm in her voice. Hope you find this thread helpful. I did. Que
