Currently, stronger synonyms for said are out of fashion. A century or more ago, writers stretched for synonyms for said: asseverated, averred, conveyed, voiced, uttered, proclaimed … and it became distracting, even ridiculous. The current enthusiasm for just plain … may be a reaction against that excess.
On the other hand, the quality of the speaker’s voice can sometimes be important information for the reader, adding texture and nuance, and conveying the character’s mood or emotion.
“Over my dead body,” he said.
Is he angry?
Frightened?
Determined?
Defiant?
Insisting on something?
Secretly defiant?
A simple said doesn’t give us a hint.
“Over my dead body,” he roared.
“Over my dead body,” he shrilled.
“Over my dead body,” he growled.
“Over my dead body,” he whispered.
“Over my dead body,” he murmured.
Many current, best-selling, traditionally published, award-winning novels use attributions other than said. This may be because the writers refuse to put their stories in artificial straight jackets that limit the readers’ ability to see and hear the dialogue in an effective and affecting manner.
“Attributions will be limited to only ‘said’ over my dead body,” she insisted.
Niki Kantzios
Thank you for stating the obvious! One gets tired of all the strait-jackets imposed by literary fashion.
Marie Brack
Fashion, yes. Fads. One person, maybe a famous writer, says something and we jump on it like the holy grail without asking whether it really improves the readers’ experience.
Marc Burke
So glad to see someone push back against the status quo. My only caveat is that these more descriptive attributions be used sparingly, only when necessary – when the surrounding dialogue / atmosphere hasn’t already told the reader what the protagonist is probably feeling. If they know that already, this is when the embroidery becomes redundant and potentially annoying.
Marie Brack
Yes. As with any literary device, moderation and consideration matter. We want to stop short of “purple prose” unless writing that way for a reason.
Some situations lend themselves to a fully developed emotional atmosphere that supports the spoken dialogue, but in others the dialogue needs a bit of an emotional boost.
Beda
“I will keep this in mind,” I mused.
Sidney
Contrary to the contrarian here… You only really need a dialogue tag to identify who is speaking. In a two person conversation, once the order of speakers is established, and if proper paragraphing is used, you don’t need to tag each line of speech. “Said” used infrequently and judiciously is usually enough. “Said” is practically invisible. You can also use action beats to identify who is speaking and indicate the emotion of the speaker. “Over my dead body!” Harry stormed from the room. Some “synonyms” for said used as dialogue tags call too much attention to themselves—and away from the dialogue. If you have to reach for “shrilled,” or if your characters often “murmur” I think you’re probably reaching too far. And if you often need to add a dialogue tag to indicate emotion then, in my opinion, it’s better to rewrite your dialogue or action beats or the entire scene than it is to reach for synonyms for said, which quickly start to sound silly. Emotion is more effectively shown in words the character is speaking or in their actions than it is when explained in a dialogue tag. I don’t think it’s reasonable or good writing to expect that a dialogue tag alone will show that a character is frightened, secretly defiant, or the like. Show the reader how and why characters say what they’re saying, don’t tell them.
Skipper Hammond
Yes. Action beats can show emotion, attitude, etc far more effectively than descriptive verbs that distract.
Ken Pelham
Good advice! “Said” is usually the right choice but not always. “Whispered” conveys a specific bit of information in situations where “said” may be wholly inappropriate.
J. H. Tabbott
In the main, “said” is quite sufficient for moving ordinary conversational dialogue along. However, it is insufficient for conveying a character’s tone and attitude. Using either “said” all the time or using stronger emotion-related verbs all the time only sabotages the story. All the characters either sound like Ben Stein (Buehler? Buehler? Buehler?) or William Shatner (a lovable ham)–not what you want.