Get rid of your dialogue tags, not just “said”.
I see everywhere, “don’t use ‘said’ use _____!”, “100 words to use instead of ‘said’!”, etc. This needs to stop. First of all, do you know why “said” is used so often? Because it’s easy to ignore, when you’re reading at 300 words per minute, skipping over “said” is a lot easier than “inquired” or “demanded” or any other annoying verb.
I’m not saying you should use “said”, I’m saying you shouldn’t use any of it.
One argument against “said” is that it doesn’t give details about the speakers state of mind.
“Good morning.” A said.
“Good morning.” B said.
“Good morning.” C said.
But tell me, do you honestly think this is better?
“Good morning.” A yelled.
“Good morning.” B shuddered.
“Good morning” C muttered.
All of these can be misunderstood, is A angry? Is A deaf? Is B cold? Is B afraid of A?
Don’t get me started on adverbs. No. Is this better?
“Good morning.” A yelled angrily.
“Good morning.” B shuddered fearfully.
“Good morning.” C muttered distractedly.
It all sounds abhorrent! All three of the above examples don’t follow the Show, Don’t Tell. Don’t tell your readers characters emotions, show them through actions and imagery.
A had a nasty scowl on his face, his eyes glazed over with fury. “Good morning.” His roar echoed through the room, shaking with wrath.
B flinched. His eyes were wide, like a deer caught in headlights. He meekly opened his mouth, “Good morning” his voice had a nervous tremor and his eyes were glued to the floor.
C was flipping through his phone, not aware of the tension in the room. “Good morning.” His eyes never wavered from the screen, displaying much more interesting things.
Of course there are exceptions. There are always exceptions, but next time you find yourself using said, don’t replace it with a longer, fancier word. Describe the character, how do they look when they’re saying it? How do they sound? What are they doing? Are they saying or doing anything plot relevant? No? Make them. There’s nothing I hate more than small talk in literature, if they’re not talking about something important, make them do something important.
