Dialogue tags, as we explain in section XXX, show the reader who is speaking or thinking. Using tags such as “he thought,” “he wondered,” or “he imagined,” enables us to clearly show who is doing the thinking, and they help show POV. Readers are accustomed to seeing quotes when a character speaks but, when he isn’t speaking, we need to show that the prose is linked to him somehow. While we frown upon the use of tags like “he thought,” they can be used if absolutely necessary and when written properly.
Don’t: I wonder if she’ll come home, he thought.
Don’t: “I wonder if she’ll come home.” He thought.
Dialogue tags, as we explain in section XXX, show the reader who is speaking or thinking. Using tags such as “he thought,” “he wondered,” or “he imagined,” enables us to clearly show who is doing the thinking, and they help show POV. Readers are accustomed to seeing quotes when a character speaks but, when he isn’t speaking, we need to show that the prose is linked to him somehow. While we frown upon the use of tags like “he thought,” they can be used if absolutely necessary and when written properly.