Josie shook her head, “It will never work.”

“I can’t believe that worked,” Ben laughed.

Miss Gilmore woke them up with a cry, “Time to get up!”

“What the hell is a verb of expression?” Maria asked.

In the sentences above, the phrase “Mary asked” would often be referred to as a label. The phrases “Josie shook her head” and “Ben chuckled” can be called labels, but they should also be considered incorrect. More precisely, the sentences themselves are fine, but it is necessary to correct the punctuation that separates them. You might see the reason right away, but such a misunderstanding of phrasing verbs in dialogue is probably one of the top three mistakes I see in the work of new fiction writers, and often established authors as well.

Sure, I’m talking (in most cases) about the difference between a comma and a period. If you squint, you’ve fixed it. But how many times have I said that an aura of professionalism can be the difference, for agents and editors, between wanting to work with you and considering you a hobbyist? And this is one of those common, massively easy-to-fix typos that can, if peppered throughout a manuscript, scream “amateur.”

Dialog tags in general should be used with caution; it’s painful to read a long passage of choppy dialogue between two characters in which each quotation mark is followed by “said” or “asked.” Try to use them only when necessary to clarify the identity of the speaker or when they serve a significant purpose, in which case “said” and “asked” should rarely appear, unless they are followed by an adverb you can’t live without ( I said emphatically).

When you use tags, think about them as carefully as you think about the words in quotes. Many verbs should not be used as verbs of expression, but that doesn’t mean you have a small selection to choose from. A character can yell, whisper, bellow, spit, or mutter a sentence… but they can’t laugh at a sentence. (See example two above.) Use that simple test if you’re not sure.

As always, there are gray areas. I say you can’t “joke” with a sentence, but some perfectly good writers might get stubborn with me and insist that you can. Another test is to simply look in your dictionary and see if the verb is transitive or intransitive (ie if it takes a direct object or not). Webster says that “giggle” is intransitive, so I’m right. Haha. On the other hand, Webster says that “giggle” can be transitive and, specifically, is a verb of expression. Why can I laugh at a sentence but not laugh at a sentence? Without explanation.

But I’m mainly referring to simpler examples, like the first and third above. Your character definitely can’t shake his head or say a sentence. And in the third example, “wake up” is the verb and “scream” is a noun. Miss Gilmore didn’t wake up her words, she woke up the people. Scan your manuscript and I guarantee you’ll change at least a few commas to periods, and then you’ll look like a more polished professional writer.

If you want to play around with language and make your character chuckle at a comment, go for it. The grammar police may or may not catch you. But always be mindful of how you’re using tags: most writers are so focused on the dialogue itself that they get lazy after the final quote. Think before you write (hey, I like that) and know why you’re putting that word and punctuation on the page.