A Simple Guide to Dialogue Cues

Dialogue cues tend to be one of writers’ biggest issues, especially when juggling a lot of characters in one scene. It feels tedious and repetitive, and it’s no wonder so many writers are trying to figure out how to let readers know who’s talking overtly and seamlessly. 

Here, we’re going to look at ways to weave dialogue cues into the story that serve multiple purposes, starting with situations where there are more than two characters in the scene.

He said/she saids  

If you’re juggling more than two characters in a scene, your he said/she saids are going to do just fine as the primary way to cue who’s talking. 

These two words are so common that readers don’t even read them. Instead, they catch the name and move on. This allows them to know who’s saying what without actually having to focus on the dialogue cue itself. It’s seamless. 

It’s the writers who feel like their he said/she said’s are repetitive because they have to write them out each time, so they have to pay attention to them. 

Don’t be afraid to use this dialogue cue - it works, it’s easy, and your readers can focus on the content of the conversation. 

Snickers, smirks and other smiles 

In an attempt to avoid the he said/she saids, most of us will reach for snickers, smirks and other smiles to mix things up. In a scene with a lot of characters, this works best when used sparingly. 

When a different dialogue cue is used after every line each character days, it draws attention to the dialogue cue instead of the conversation itself. Use these to break the pace, but don’t rely on them too heavily! 

Action as a dialogue cue 

Probably the most effective way to accomplish a show, don’t tell is to use action as a dialogue cue when the scene is packed with characters. Nobody sits or stands still while they’re having a conversation. We’re waving, moving, leaning against stuff, squeezing our fingers, biting our lips and nails. 

Movement can serve as both a dialogue cue, an emotion cue, and it makes characters and the scene come to life. Action can be anything from “he came closer” to “she played with her necklace.” Action is particularly good at expressing emotions, and you can cue how all characters are feeling without mentioning any particular emotion. 

Double dialogue cues 

Some writers have the tendency to overuse the dialogue cues, which can break the flow and look quite jarring, not to mention it adds unnecessary words to the manuscript. 

“He looked through the window, smiled and said” is an example of a triple dialogue cue. In this example, you might be inclined to keep the action and the smile, but the ‘he said’ has to go to keep the flow intact. 

No dialogue cues 

When there are only two characters in the scene, no dialogue cues should be the most common way to handle conversations, especially if the scene is packed with emotions and tension. 

In this case, the optimal way to add in dialogue cues is to use action to portray them, specifically action that allows us to see the change in emotions in both characters.