Should I ditch the things like
said ______.
whispered ______.
______ exclaimed.
______ shouted
etc. in dialogue?
Just wondering what the reader preference is. Most novels I read today seem to not have those things, so I was wondering if that was some kind of preference or if I'm just thinking about it too much. I mainly use it to remember and track who says what because when I read something like "The Rising of the Shield Hero," I get lost in their conversations.