Dialogue tag

Not every paragraph of dialogue needs to have a dialogue tag attached to it.

Sometimes inexperienced writers will discover the useful tool of tacking on detail to a dialog tag with a present participal or adverbial phrase: "It's too late," she said, closing the door.

A dialogue tag has to indicate sound

An alternative style forsakes italics altogether and assigns a dialogue tag: This is going nowhere, he thought.

A line of dialogue followed by a dialogue tag looks like this: “Nothing suits me better than a fried egg on toast early in the morning,” Billy said.