On the Subject of "Said"...

[Kentucky Fried Torchic]

I think it also bears noting that adverbs can also make or break the intros and outros of dialogue, particularly in the case of spicing up the usual said and asked. Sometimes, there is a need for a good adverb to illuminate a mindset or a relationship, but as with substitutes for said, the more fantastic the adverbs, the less likely it will seem to be seen as a valuable part of the prose. A good example is the wealth of adverbs that crop up in Tom Swift stories like crab grass on an ill-kept suburban lawn. My personal example of a poorly-done adverb is a little more contemporary. While reading Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, I came across a line that read:

"Are you okay?" she asked concernedly.

I chucked that book across the room.