You will be helping others to find and use this information. W hat words can I use instead of ask, Quaraĭon’t forget to share This valuable list. How to Punctuate Dialogue Info Graph More Information about words to use Instead of Ask See: There are a few different ways to write dialogue tags, and well look at them all in more. You can get more creative, and there are a whole bunch of possibilities (e.g. As a bonus today you can download this cheat sheet for yourselves. The most common dialogue tag in writing is he said or she said. Other frequently used dialogue tags include asked, replied, and stated. It was hard for us to remember when to put a comma, and when to put a period. ![]() One thing we ran into was figuring out how to punctuate dialog correctly. We believe they will add pizzazz to your speech tags.Ĭraved Griped interpreted petitioned demanded Examined interjected Disputed Complained Incited Pumped protested doubted commanded solicited Deliberated petition supplicated proposed pry prompted Queried Requested investigated encouraged Provoked Entreated grilled invited appealed Plead studied revised dubious beseech Scrutinize disputed doubted undecided Urged Begged meddled Pushed compelled snooped Suspected Dug jabbed pressed Quizzed searched explored pried meddled Surveyed prodded delved Interfered studied explored implored needled Considered Inspected analyzed probed Deliberated clarified debrief wished Question inquire query seek search objected checked reviewed pop the question Punctuating Dialog So here is our list of strong, descriptive verbs to replace ask. Since you are here, you must agree with our philosophy about dialog tags. A speech tag should provide valuable clues, not only about which character is speaking but how they are saying it. sometimes the standard 'asked' can become a bit stale. Killer speech tags are created with strong, descriptive verbs. If we write, then somewhere along the line well run into the word 'said,' one of the most common dialogue tags. We developed this list because we were looking for strong verbs that would eliminate the use of adverbs. ![]() To us, adverbs tend to dilute the power of the dialog. Some writers like to add adverbs like: loudly or shyly. When dialogue is followed by a tag (for example, he said, asked, replied), then use a comma before the closing quote when you would normally use a period. Grab a PDF list of 78 Strong Verbs to use Instead of Ask Adding Adverbs to Dialog Tags With practice, you can learn to write meaningful dialog. The word said is the most common dialogue tag but there are other words that can be used as well. She held out her hand and said, Nice to meet you. Dialog is an essential part of storytelling. In the example below, the dialogue tag is split from its dialogue which makes it hard to follow: Nice to meet you, she said, holding out her hand. We are all striving to be better writers. To us, using strong verbs instead of ask creates more powerful dialog. Obviously, there is a great difference between a speaker who asks and a speaker who demands.Ĭan you see how writing with strong verbs instead of ask adds to the characterization of the people who are speaking. One of the main purposes of dialog is to give your readers a glimpse into your character’s attitudes. ![]() You can also include dialogue tags such as he said, she murmured, I asked. But that doesn’t mean a stronger tag does not improve the dialog. Often, fiction writers start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes. I will admit that the words your character says are immensely more important than the dialog tag. We believe by using strong verbs to replace ask our dialog will be strengthened. So mostly stick to the invisible dialogue tags (say, ask maybe occasionally reply, question, or answer, etc.), and try to keep variations of say and ask to. These writers feel that by using other words instead of ask the writer is adding their own comments to the dialog.Īctually, we created this list because we disagree with that philosophy. They believe using alternate words is distracting. Many writers believe said and ask are invisible. There is some controversy among writers about using other words beside said and ask. ![]() Using alternate words to replace ask gives you the opportunity to add emotion to your dialog. To help you find that perfect synonym to inject action and emotion into your dialogue, here are over 270 other words for said: Neutral/multi-purpose wordsįor this infographic, we've narrowed down the 270 most essential dialogue words for you to know! Simply enter your email below to get it in your inbox within minutes.Ask is a common word used when writing dialog.
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