: Re: Why do writers use "said" instead of "asked" when someone asks a question? I often see writers use "said" instead of "asked" when their character asks a question. e.g. From The Hobbit:

@Hamm6328258

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Said is always appropriate as a dialogue tag, whether it's a question or a statement, and asked is fine as well when a character is asking a question.

Side note: Said and asked are the ONLY dialogue tags you should ever use. Grunted, hissed, wept, replied, cried, etc, are not acceptable and will get you a manuscript full of red marks from your editor if you ever try to publish. These colorful tags are actually considered lazy writing, as the emotion you are trying to convey in the dialogue should be present in the line itself or in the description.

When I published my first novel, I spent way too much time correcting these colorful dialogue tags and changing them to said and asked. Live and learn. Unfortunately, students in schools are told the exact opposite. I've even seen teachers send home a list of tags to use instead of said.

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