A guide to writing HP fan fiction

Character dialogue

Hello again! When you're writing conversations between characters, it can often be difficult to think of words other than 'said' while two characters are speaking. Below is a list of words I find myself using as I am writing character dialogue.

Neutral words
- Began
- Blurted
- Ended
- Emitted
- Conferred
- Declared
- Replied
- Told
- Voiced
- Mentioned

Happy words
- Chuckled
- Exclaimed
- Bubbled
- Smiled
- Giggled
- Joked
- Complimented
- Crooner

Sad words
- Cried
- Sighed
- Wept
- Mumbled
- Grieved

Angry words
- Barked
- Bellowed
- Swore
- Shouted
- Yelled
- Roared
- Spat
- Hissed
- Insulted

Frightened words
- Prayed
- Cautioned
- Yelped
- Wailed

It's nice to switch up the words while you're writing dialogue because it keeps the reader involved with the character's emotions there and then. It also gives them more passion to their speech; in the real world, we like to talk with tone in our voice. For example, look at how dry this conversation is without changing up the dialogue.

"I don't understand, why didn't you tell me?" Harry said.

"I didn't think it was important" Ron said.

"Well that wasn't right of you to keep it a secret from me" Harry said.

"I'm sorry" Ron said.

"Sorry?" Harry said, "I'm tired of hearing I'm sorry"

"Well you know so am" Ron said.

Here, we don't get any sense of the tone that each of the characters are applying in this section. There is no sense of anger present in Harry's voice because of the word said. Instead of engaging the reader, it will leave them feeling very bored. Here is an example of what you should do in a section of dialogue.

"I don't understand, why didn't you tell me?" Harry demanded, his eyes flickered towards Ron in a flamboyant anger.

"I didn't think it was important" Ron admitted, looking rather sheepishly at the floor.

"Well that wasn't right of you to keep it a secret from!" Harry bellowed, his voice conveying his frustrations.

"I'm sorry" Ron shrugged, finally looking up at Harry.

"Sorry?" Harry questioned, only looking away from Ron's eyes at this point, "I'm tired of hearing I'm sorry"

"Well you know I am" Ron frowned truthfully.

Here, the emotions of each of the characters are revealed which means that the reader can actively engage in the dialogue between these two characters. Using the word 'said' is perfectly fine, you just can't overuse it. I also find that writing different words often lets me visualise the movements of the different characters!