author and triathleteUse of "Said" and Synonyms in Chapter Five of Mira, Mirror
I picked this chapter because it is one in which a lot of dialog happens, and then I went through to see how many differents words for "said" were used.
nothing (or an action attribution)--15
said--8
whispered--4
demanded--2
answered--1
demanded--2
reminded--1
murmured--1
tell--1
argued--1
began--1
admitted--1
urged--1
tried--1
I am honestly a little surprised by these results. I thought I used "said" or nothing almost exclusively, but it turned out to be 17 versus 23, almost half of the time I used something other than said. My writing has changed since the time I wrote this book, and reflects more my current philosophy of teaching "said" or nothing most of the time. The dialog should carry itself because of the distinct way each character talks, or the "said" should be utterly invisible.
Go here to see the results of a chapter from The Princess and the Hound.