When the reader only needs to know who spoke.
Free dialogue helper
Find a better word or action for said.
Start with the word in your draft, choose the feeling or purpose, and see the clearest dialogue words and action ideas first.
Another way to say said
Find the right dialogue word or action
The first box keeps the word from your draft. The second understands one feeling or a natural phrase such as angry but quiet, asking gently or nervous but confident.
Start with said, or type a word such as asked, whispered, smiled or told.
Type one feeling or a natural phrase such as “angry but quiet”.
More filtersVolume, feeling strength, word safety and sorting
No strong match yet
Try a related feeling or clear the extra filters.
Build a line
See four ways to replace said in a dialogue line
Type what the character says. Saidsense will show the original said, a dialogue word replacement, and two action replacements. Choose the one that sounds most natural.
2
Choose the clearest version
Read each one aloud. The simplest natural choice is often best.
A quick check
What does each choice add?
When it adds useful information, such as whispering or shouting.
When something the character does can show the feeling.
Free dialogue checker
Check common dialogue problems
Paste a scene below. Saidsense checks repeated speech words, action words used as tags, adverb patterns, named emotions, filter phrases and repeated common gestures. These are suggestions, not rules.
Your results
Things worth checking
Run the check to see patterns and alternatives.
The free and paid boundary
SaidSense handles the fast dialogue decisions.
The free app finds better words and actions and catches common local patterns. Authorton Tools is where deeper manuscript analysis belongs, so the free search can stay fast, private and easy.
Free SaidSenseDialogue choices, sentence examples, punctuation help and common pattern checks.
Authorton ToolsWhole chapter gesture fatigue, scene rhythm, viewpoint shifts, manuscript patterns and deeper editorial review.
Your saved ideas
Saved words and actions
Use the star button to save useful ideas. They stay in this browser until you clear them.
Nothing saved yet
Choose the star on any word or action and it will appear here.
Simple guide
The basics of writing dialogue
You do not need to know writing terms to use Saidsense. These seven ideas explain what the app is showing you.
What is dialogue?
Dialogue is anything a character says aloud. In Australian fiction it is commonly placed inside single quotation marks.
Example
‘I found the letter,’ Mara said.
Question
‘Where was it?’ Dean asked.
What is a word for speech?
A word for speech tells the reader who spoke or how the words sounded. Examples include said, asked, whispered and shouted.
Why is said useful?
Said is clear and easy to read. You do not need to replace it simply to make every line different.
What is an action idea?
An action near the dialogue can show the feeling without naming it. The action is written as its own sentence.
Tells the feeling
‘Leave me alone,’ Mara said angrily.
Shows the feeling
Mara slammed the cup onto the bench. ‘Leave me alone.’
Can the word really be spoken?
A character can whisper words, but cannot smile, nod or shrug words. Write those movements as actions instead.
Use another word only when it helps
Whispered tells us the voice is quiet. Ordered tells us the character expects to be obeyed. When a word adds nothing useful, said may be better.
Dialogue punctuation at a glance
Saidsense uses Australian single quotation marks, but the writing check also accepts single or double quotation marks, whether they are curly or straight.
‘Come back,’ Mara said.Use a comma before a speech word such as said.
‘Are you sure?’ Mara asked.The question mark stays inside the quotation marks.
Mara closed the door. ‘We’re done.’An action before dialogue is its own sentence.
‘We’re done.’ Mara closed the door.An action after dialogue also begins a new sentence.
Privacy and advertising promise
Your writing stays yours.
Saidsense is designed to earn from clearly separated advertising without turning a writer’s work into advertising data.
Writing is checked locally
Searches, dialogue lines and pasted passages are processed in your browser. Saidsense does not send manuscript text to its server or provide it to advertisers.
Saved ideas stay in this browser
Favourites, the last word entered and your theme choice use browser storage. Clearing site data removes them.
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