Prose checks › Dialogue tags Free
Prose check: dialogue tags“Said” disappears. “Growled” doesn’t.
Readers skim right past “said”. They stop at “she hissed menacingly”. Falcontext finds the dialogue tags worth a second look, and tells you what share of your tags they are.
What’s wrong with “he growled”?
Nothing. Once.
But tags fancier than “said” (said-bookisms: hissed, growled, snapped, exclaimed, retorted, queried) and tags with an adverb (“she said softly”) do the dialogue’s job for it.
Let the line carry the tone. Let “said” vanish.
“Make me,” she retorted.
“Make me,” she said.
Which dialogue tags get flagged, and which don’t
- Flagged: said-bookisms (hissed, barked, exclaimed, chuckled, sneered…), any tag with an -ly adverb (“said quietly”), and a gesture used as a tag after a comma (“Yes,” he nodded). You can’t nod a word.
- Not flagged: plain tags (said, asked, replied, whispered, shouted, murmured, muttered, called…) and action beats after a full stop (“Stop.” She turned.).
How many is normal?
Older novels loved “cried” and “exclaimed”. In the 38 published books I measured (most from 1900–1922), the middle one had about a quarter of its tags worth a look.
Today’s advice is stricter. So the green line sits at one in five.
Where these numbers come from.
How Falcontext checks dialogue tags
Guidelines, not rules. If your characters growl and you like it that way, let them. This only makes you aware of how often they do.
- Finds
- Said-bookisms and adverbs on dialogue tags, each one marked in your text, the ones you use most first.
- Traffic light
- Up to 20% of your tags
- Up to 35%
- More than 35%
How the dialogue is punctuated (“Hello.” she said) has a check of its own: dialogue punctuation.
Fancy tags get their own section in the second of the guide’s five passes, scenes and dialogue, next to point of view and dialogue punctuation.
Team “said”, or team “growled”?
Questions about dialogue tags.
Should I only use “said” in dialogue tags?
Mostly “said” and “asked”, plus action beats, with the occasional whispered or shouted where the volume matters. Falcontext doesn’t flag plain tags like whispered, shouted or murmured; it flags said-bookisms like hissed or retorted, and adverbs on tags.
What is a said-bookism?
A showy alternative to “said”, such as growled, hissed, exclaimed, retorted or queried, used to carry tone the dialogue itself should carry.
Is “he nodded” a dialogue tag?
Not after a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark: “Fine.” He nodded. is an action beat. After a comma (“Fine,” he nodded) it’s used as a tag, and Falcontext flags it.
Is the dialogue tag checker free?
Yes: said-bookisms and adverbs on tags are flagged on the free plan too.
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