Dialogue Tags

A guide on types of dialogue tags and how to use them

Dialogue Tags

In a previous post, we talked a lot about dialogue itself, but I’d like to touch briefly on what goes around dialogue. A dialogue tag is what tells the reader who is speaking. The titles I use to describe the types of tags are mine, you might hear other words to describe the same concepts.

Traditional dialogue tags

Traditional dialogue tags are structured very simply, the dialogue, the person, the word said. These always use either he, she, I, they, or the name of the person.

“What are you doing?” Mark said.

“Cleaning out this fridge. Something I asked you to do last week,” she said.

Most modern novels have moved away from solely using traditional dialogue tags because it becomes distracting and repetitive. However, you should still use them sparingly.

Untraditional dialogue tags​

Untraditional dialogue tags follow the same format as traditional ones but use words other than said.

“What are you doing?” Mark inquired.

“Cleaning out the fridge. Something I asked you to do last week,” Susan commented.

“I was going to get to it,” he defended.

“Yeah, by next year,” she exclaimed.

These seem appealing to a first-time author who has heard not to use traditional tags. However, I would strongly avoid ​most untraditional dialogue tags because they will feel unnatural and very distracting to the reader.

Exceptions you can use: He asked, she whispered, he yelled.

Action tags

So, if you can’t use traditional dialogue tags every time and shouldn’t use untraditional ones, what can you use? That’s where action tags come in.

An action tag combines dialogue and action. This keeps the sentence structure and conversation interesting and avoids repetition while still telling the reader who said what. It’s also a great place to insert body language to give the reader more insight into the subtext of the character.

An action tag can look three different ways: With a non-dialogue sentence at the beginning, middle, or end of the paragraph.

Mark walked over to the open fridge. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning out the fridge.” Susan grunted. She grabbed a half-eaten moldy sandwich and threw it into the trash. “Something I asked you to do last week.”

“I was going to get to it.” He shifted uncomfortably.

She turned around and glared at him. “Yeah, by next year.”

“That’s not fair.” He sighed and leaned against the fridge. “You know I’ve been busy.”

Action tags are great for making the conversation more visual and dynamic. However, they also can slow the scene down. In a dramatic moment, the reader just wants to know that will be said next, adding a lot of extra text will only drag the conversation down.

No tags

Dialogue tags are primarily designed to let the reader know who’s speaking. So are times when it’s abundantly clear who’s talking and therefor, no tag is needed. In that case, only dialogue would be in the paragraph.

Which tag should I use?

Each type of tag has its benefits and detriments. And that is why it’s best to use all of them throughout the conversation, primarily action and traditional tags. Then use no tags when it’s obvious who’s speaking. Only use the untraditional tags asked, whispered, and yelled.

Mark walked over to the open fridge. “What are you doing?”

“Cleaning out the fridge.” Susan grunted. She grabbed a half-eaten moldy sandwich and threw it into the trash. “Something I asked you to do last week.”

“I was going to get to it,” he said.

She turned around and glared at him. “Yeah, by next year.”

“That’s not fair.” He sighed and leaned against the fridge. “You know I’ve been busy.”

“It was starting to smell.” Susan stuck her head back into the fridge to grab more items.

“Well can I at least help?” he asked.

“You can empty the trashcan and put a new bag in.”

Mark grabbed the bag, careful to avoid the rotting food spilling over the top. He pulled the bag out of the plastic bin and heard it tear.

Moldy food splattered across the floor.

Susan scowled. “If I ask you to clean that up, will you get to it before next week?”

“Ha ha, very funny.” Mark grabbed the mop.