Adverbial Dialogue Tags Explained: Tips For Stronger Dialogue

What are adverbial dialogue tags? Learn why writers should avoid overusing adverbs in dialogue tags. Find out how stronger dialogue and character actions can improve your fiction writing.

It’s Time To Remove Those Adverbial Dialogue Tags

Do you pepper your dialogue tags with adverbs? Do you have to make your character’s tone clear, just in case the reader didn’t get it from the dialogue? This is not a good habit.

What Are Dialogue Tags?

Dialogue tags tell us when a character is speaking. They are every ‘he said’ and ‘she asked’ in the books you read and write.

They are important because they tell us who is speaking. Readers don’t like to be confused, and you don’t want them to lose interest and stop reading.

They are also useful when you want to:

1. Break up long pieces of dialogue.
2. Create or cut tension.
3. Insert an action or a reaction.
4. Add body language.
5. Give us an idea of your character’s rhythm of speech.

Good writers make these tags disappear into the story. They do not litter their writing with detracting synonyms for ‘said’, like ‘urged’, ‘whispered’, ‘uttered’, ‘exclaimed’, and ‘grunted’. (I’m even cringing as I write them.) They do use these, but they do so sparingly.

Just as importantly, they stick to ‘said’ and ‘asked’ without over-indulging in adverbial abuse.

What Are Adverbial Dialogue Tags?

Beginner writers love adverbs of manner. They especially love using them in dialogue tags. You’ve seen the fiction filled with those ‘–ly’ adverbs that tell us how we should think or feel instead of allowing the words spoken by the characters, and their actions, to show us what is happening.

An adverbial dialogue tag is when an adverb modifies the verb we use to denote dialogue. For example, ‘he said hastily‘, ‘she said gruffly‘, ‘they asked groggily‘.

Tips For Stronger Dialogue

When you tell us how somebody says something, you take the power away from their spoken words. If they say something ‘angrily’ or ‘gently’, their body language and emotions become less important because of these ‘telling’ words.

We also tend to concentrate less with padded writing. And adverbs and adjectives are notorious for their ability to clutter up a page.