"Said" or "Screamed"?

I've come across one or two pictures listing synonyms for the word "said", put in pride of place, as if to draw attention to lackluster writing and repetitive usage of said word. Dialogue tags are praised in some circles, admonished in others; words aren't merely said, but the way in which they are conveyed is as important as the information contained therein. On the other hand, embellishing on the number of saidisms you use will turn swift, witty banter into an unnavigable mire.

A snippet from an article on thewritepractice.com sums up the thoughts of both camps succinctly.

The “Said Haters” argue that people do not simply say words; rather, they whisper, yell, remark, argue, and so forth. They believe that using more descriptive words paints a clearer picture for the reader.

The “Pro-Said” Party believes that all the extra verbs are distracting to the reader. They believe that “said” is easily ignored, so your readers can keep their focus on the dialogue.

I was reading through The Martian - one of the many books on my shelf collecting dust - when I decided to pay attention to how the dialogue was written. I noticed how many times the word "said" is said, and how I was subconsciously skipping over all of them. It reminded me of a picture on Normal's user page - and echoes of people whom I queried early in my writing 'career', such as it is.

I think it's something of a divide that I hadn't really taken notice of until now. Honestly, I'd always heard the nay-sayers of "said", and thought it was how great books were written. I'd always strove to pack in as much detail as possible, as opposed to just letting the words flow out of my fingertips and onto the page. See the moonlight glinting on the broken glass, and all that jazz.

I'm interested in hearing other people's opinions on this topic, so if you've stumbled into this blog post and decided to read it through, let me know which side of the fence you're on and why. I'd elaborate on my opinions, but the internet's got enough of that as it is.