A dialogue tag is a group of words connected to a quote that let you know who said what.

“Is he here yet?” he asked.

“He is here,” she answered.

A dialog tag has to tell who spoke and how they spoke. They said it. They asked it. They answered. They replied. They moaned. They groaned. They whispered. They shouted.

“Come quick!” they shouted.

He whispered, “Okay, I’m in.”

“I don’t want to,” she fidgeted. No, she didn’t. She didn’t fidget out the words, “I don’t want to.” She said them. “I don’t want to,” she said, fidgeting.

If they said it, then they said it. Most of the time your characters will have “said” things. Don’t always try to use unique words or it will distract from the story. Use more exciting words when they fit the situation. They then can have a big impact. Here’s a list of other speech tag words from Read Write Think.

acknowledged
admitted
agreed
answered
argued
asked
barked
begged
bellowed
blustered
bragged
complained
confessed
cried
demanded
denied
giggled
hinted
hissed
howled
inquired
interrupted
laughed
lied
mumbled

muttered
nagged
pleaded
promised
questioned
remembered
replied
requested
retorted
roared
sang
screamed
screeched
shouted
sighed
snarled
sobbed
threatened
wailed
warned
whimpered
whined
whispered
wondered
yelled