Writers love to debate the use of dialogue tags. Some eschew them altogether. Some argue that “said” is the only acceptable attribution, while others allow for the occasional “shouted” or “cried.” They are united only in their disdain for characters who argue or opine.
But there are more options for identifying who is speaking without the use of dialogue tags and without leaving your reader completely lost. In a post on the Killzone blog, Sue Coletta discusses the use of cue words: specific words or phrases planted in a single character’s dialogue that cue the reader as to who’s speaking.
These cues can be slang or swear words, or phrases in a different language. Assign those cues to a specific character and after a few repetitions, you’ll need far fewer dialogue tags when they speak. The reader will spot the unique identifier.
More subtly, ways of speaking can be used to identify character. Coletta shares examples from In the Darkness by Mike Omer. During one scene, a detective interrogates an eyewitness. The detective speaks in short, impatient declarative sentences, while the eyewitness responds in long meandering paragraphs. When a second detective chimes in, their speech is softer and more empathetic to the eyewitness, thereby differentiating the two police officers. Repeating tone and phrasing can cement a character in your reader’s mind, and portray their character.
