Don’t Use “Said”— Notes from an Exhausted Editor

Your reader doesn’t want to just hear the conversation — they want to be in the room experiencing it

Cottonbro on pexels — ‘Give me some emotion’ cried the editor

Stop using “said” in dialogue.

I don’t mean stop. Just less please. And not Juniper. (You need to be in the know for that one.)

Anyhow, let’s get back on track…

Some fiction writers totally over use the verb, SAID.

Why can’t I use SAID all the time May?

Well, you don’t need to completely banish said to the bondage basement. It’s the quiet hero of dialogue tags. But if every exchange is a slap of, he said, she said, your scene starts to sound like a torturous replay of the doom in The Pit and the Pendulum.

And if you don’t know what I am talking about, then maybe you need to read for a year or two and then write.

That’s a bit harsh… May.

None of us should write if we are not willing to read and learn from masters like Poe. By using SAID all the time you miss rhythm, subtext and character.

Take a look at this:
“I’m not going,” she said.
Versus…
“I’m not going.” She folded her arms and looked away.