I’ve got the bit between my teeth over this. (See my post 25 Ways To Say ‘Said‘.)
Here are another 25 much more interesting alternatives to ‘said’:
Answered, anticipated, bantered, bawled, begged, coaxed, enquired, encouraged, explained, exclaimed, frowned, hassled, pondered, prompted, promised, remembered, roared, sobbed, shrieked, soothed, tempted, sympathised, wept, wheedled, yelled.
And another 25:
Apologised, contradicted, cooed, deliberated, denied, dictated, droned, echoed, empathised, enticed, enthused, exhaled, expostulated, gulped, grinned, grimaced, ordered, sighed, sang, yelped, swallowed, realised, repeated, reported, winced.
More soon …