{"id":4099,"date":"2023-11-20T13:41:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T13:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.novlr.org\/?p=4099"},"modified":"2024-09-23T13:43:14","modified_gmt":"2024-09-23T12:43:14","slug":"a-beginners-guide-to-dialogue-tags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.novlr.org\/the-reading-room\/a-beginners-guide-to-dialogue-tags\/","title":{"rendered":"A Beginner’s Guide to Dialogue Tags"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Dialogue tags can make or break a reader\u2019s immersion in your dialogue. Great use of dialogue tags can result in clear, engaging, and memorable dialogue, but getting it wrong can make your characters\u2019 conversations feel flat and lifeless. Today, I\u2019m going to show you how to use different types of dialogue tags, when and why it\u2019s important to use them, and how you can use them effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Dialogue Tags?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A dialogue tag<\/a> is a word or phrase that describes who is speaking. It\u2019s used to show who said what, and how. He said, she whispered, Julia shouted, Neville sighed are all examples of dialogue tags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an example: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow can I ever repay you?\u201d she said.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In the phrase above, the word \u201cshe said\u201d is the dialogue tag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When to Use Dialogue Tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Dialogue tags are like little signposts that tell the reader who said what. But how do you decide when and how to use them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, let\u2019s look at why we need them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reader needs to know who is talking in order to follow the conversation. They are also a great way of adding detail and emotion to your writing by showing what kind of tone or mood each speaker is in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean that dialogue tags are always necessary. If your dialogue is clear without them, it\u2019s good to leave them out and let your dialogue speak for itself. Using them occasionally for variation is one thing, but there\u2019s nothing worse than repetitive tagging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can also use action beats in place of dialogue tags to set the scene, which is often much more effective than a simple \u201che said, she said.\u201d Sometimes it\u2019s good to let the action speak for itself. For instance, if two people are having a heated argument, there\u2019s no need for an extra line telling us they\u2019re arguing. A reader will be able to tell by the way your characters are talking (and acting) without having to include tags like \u201cshe shouted\u201d or \u201che screamed\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some examples:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDid you see the dog earlier?\u201d Amy asked.\n\u201cI didn\u2019t, but I certainly heard it,\u201d said Gordon.\n\u201cIt was barking all night,\u201d grumbled Amy.\n\u201cI wonder if it\u2019s as tired as I feel?\u201d Gordon yawned.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
In the example above, you can see that the dialogue tags feel repetitive, despite varying word order and description. A better way to formulate the conversation above with action beats would look like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amy entered the kitchen to see Gordon sipping his coffee at the table.\n\u201cDid you see the dog earlier?\u201d\n\u201cI didn\u2019t, but I certainly heard it,\u201d he yawned.\n\u201cIt was barking,\u201d said Amy, staring pointedly at Gordon. \u201cAll night.\u201d\nShrugging, Gordon returned to his coffee.  \u201cI wonder if it\u2019s as tired as I feel?\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
A good rule of thumb is: if an action beat would have more impact than a dialogue tag, leave it out\u2014you don\u2019t want anything getting in between your reader and their imagination!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How to Use Dialogue Tags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Dialogue tags can come before, between, or after direct speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After speech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShouldn\u2019t you be studying?\u201d asked Shirley.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This example puts the dialogue tag after the speech. You might notice, in this case, that the tag comes after a question mark, which would usually denote the end of a sentence (an exclamation mark would be another example of this). But when using a dialogue tag, the question mark acts the same as a comma, so you wouldn\u2019t capitalise the word \u201casked.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If we framed this differently for the sake of comparison, it would read: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou should be studying,\u201d said Shirley.<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
When writing a dialogue tag after the speech, you should always use a comma before the closing quotation mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between speech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome over here,\u201d gestured Karen, \u201cand help me put these bags in the car.\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This example uses a dialogue tag to split a single instance of speech. Grammatically, this requires a comma before the closing quotation mark of the first half of the dialogue, and a comma after the dialogue tag before the opening quotation mark of the second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are other variations of this split. Another example might be: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"Come over here!\u201d shouted Karen. \u201cHelp me get these bags in the car.\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The above example uses the exclamation mark to end the sentence of speech but acts like a comma as far as the dialogue tag is concerned. Because the speech is a self-contained sentence, we need a full stop after the dialogue tag, letting the rest of the dialogue continue separately. This split adds variation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You could also write this same piece of dialogue as: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCome over here! I need help putting these bags in the car,\u201d shouted Karen. <\/pre>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s not as interesting to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before speech<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Michael winced, \u201cI stubbed my toe!\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The above example puts the dialogue tag before the speech. Just like in the example of speech splitting, you need a comma after the tag, before the opening quotation mark, even if the dialogue that follows is a new sentence. You should always capitalise the first letter of the dialogue if it begins a new sentence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An alternative example for this could also be to use the words of the dialogue tag as an action beat instead. For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Michael winced. \u201cI stubbed my toe.\u201d<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This is no longer a dialogue tag, but it does show the difference in tone you can create with even a slight variation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When used as a dialogue tag, \u201cMichael winced\u201d shows he is wincing as he speaks. When using it as an action beat, Michael winced before<\/em> he spoke. So even though the words are the same, there is a subtle difference in how your reader will interpret it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When in doubt, here are some quick tips on using dialogue tags:<\/p>\n\n\n\n