Ten Rules in Ten Days - Rule 3: Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue

Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But "said" is far less intrusive than "grumbled," "gasped," "cautioned," "lied." I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated" and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.

This is a big one to me. One should be able to tell how a person said something by the context.

Here are a few books I skimmed to see what the a...