In dialogue the words must be spoken by someone. As we saw before too many lines of dialogue without letting the reader know who's up can be confusing. Another thing that doesn't confuse the reader into asking who and the ones who might explicit a "What." So keep it simple. Some time you read things like she said merrily. Maybe this tells a bit about the person's attitude but there are better ways to show this. I can remember reading a book once that many me stop and scratch my head. "Go home," he ejaculated. Really, I thought. Or the bit with the heroine speaking She said with a sputter and spit all over the table. Too much information. Think of ways to get the mood across. The words can show this as well as the attribution.
When in doubt or even not, reading the dialogue aloud like this is a play can really help you catch the rhythm. People's dialogue has a rhythm and each person's is a bit different. Do they use a lot of uhs or ers. Are the words stretched out. There are ways of showing this. If you read the bits of dialogue aloud, youcan show the rhythm on paper. For example. I want uh you uh leave. Says one thing. If someone says. Leave. Now. That says something quite different. Reading aloud can also sshow you how the dialogue is perhaps too long and wandering or one that says words but has no meaning. So become an actor and become your characters.
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