He said. She said. He said. She said. I threw the book across the room.

One of the most basic rules about dialog is that you should generally use said, rather than shouted, stated, asked, exclaimed, or screamed at the top of her lungs. And, like all rules, you should follow this one all the time.

Except when you shouldn't.

For an example, get one of Robert B. Parker's books on CD. I love Parker. He's probably my favorite author, and the one my style most naturally mirrors. But when I listen to one of his books on CD, his overuse of the word said becomes incredibly irritating. For instance:

"You have a fine patootie," I said.

"Perhaps if the baby can be enticed out of the room, you can see more of it," Susan said.

"I never got why you let Pearl do things you don't let me do," I said.

"Because you don't lick my face when I wake up in the morning or growl at strangers," she said.

"I could," I said.

"Lick my face?" Susan said.

"If you'd like," I said. "I was thinking more of the growling at strangers."

"You're incorrigible," Susan said.

"Grrr," I said.

That's not a real excerpt from Parker, but it almost could be. Even Hawk, the impassive enforcer, would be moved to angry violence if he had to listen to this passage. There were only two people speaking in this exchange, so the alternation of speakers is pretty evident. But even when there are three people speaking, you can use action to show who's talking.

Hawk adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see behind us without turning around. "Nothing going on back there."

Susan sat forward and put her hand on my shoulder. "How long do you think it'll take?"

"No telling," Hawk said.

"If Tony Marcus has her, he'll take his time to figure this out." I wished I hadn't had the second cup of coffee. I'd managed the switch to decaf, but hadn't managed to hold two cups for a long stakeout.

"We could hurry things along." Hawk smiled. In gathering darkness, he seemed more sinister than normal, even with the smile. Maybe it was the shotgun in his lap.

It should be clear which of the three people are speaking in the second excerpt (again, not a real excerpt). However, among five pieces of dialog, I only used the said tag once. With the other information around the dialog, there should be plenty for you to determine who said what.