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Q&A Is it necessary to use words like "said", "asked," etc in dialog?

It is necessary to use them, yes. You should, I think, use them - sometimes. It will be tedious if you use them too much. So, use them. Use them where you think you should, leave them off where y...

posted 6y ago by DPT‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

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#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T07:11:14Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30925
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar DPT‭ · 2019-12-08T07:11:14Z (over 4 years ago)
It is necessary to use them, yes. You should, I think, use them - sometimes. It will be tedious if you use them too much.

So, use them. Use them where you think you should, leave them off where you don't want them. Go away from your writing, come back days later, and see if you can follow who is speaking.

I would avoid too many alternatives to 'said' (exhorted, complained, yelled, etc) because they become tedious. I know a writer who tries to use a different one every time and we all tell him to stop it. None of us like it. But, some are very useful. I like 'interjected' (a lot) but wouldn't use it more than once or twice in an entire novel.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2017-10-19T22:03:14Z (over 6 years ago)
Original score: 0