Dialogue Tag Variety

What It Does

Analyzes the distribution of dialogue attribution verbs across a passage. When a single tag — especially "said" — dominates dialogue attribution, the analyzer suggests mixing in action beats, body language, and varied tags.

Why It Matters

While "said" is often considered an invisible tag, excessive repetition creates a monotonous reading experience:

• Monotonous: "I'm leaving," she said. "Don't follow me," she said.
• Varied: "I'm leaving." She grabbed her coat. "Don't follow me."

Action beats (physical actions used as attribution) are often more effective than any tag — they show character emotion and keep scenes dynamic.

What Gets Flagged

"Said" Overuse

Severity: Information

Triggered when "said" accounts for ≥ 70% of dialogue tags and appears at least 4 times.

Example (flagged):

"Hello," she said. "Hi," he said. "How are you?" she said. "Fine," he said. "Good," she said.

Suggested revision: Mix in action beats, body language, and varied tags where they add meaning.

Repetitive Non-"Said" Tags

Severity: Hint

Triggered when any single tag (besides "said") accounts for ≥ 30% of tags and appears at least 4 times. Catches overuse of colorful tags like "whispered" or "exclaimed."

Minimum Threshold

Analysis only begins when 5+ dialogue tags are detected, avoiding false positives on short passages.

Configuration

No configuration options.

Technical Details

• Source: prose-craft
• Scope: Document-level (aggregates across all dialogue)
• Method: Speech verb frequency analysis with configurable thresholds