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 Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:57 am
SAID IS DEAD!
words to use instead of said When writing, we've all had that fleeting moment: realizing you've been using the same verb-- said--for an entire page. surprised You were so absorbed by the story, you weren't paying attention to the details! Don't worry--there is hope.
Anyway, I have noticed that a lot of bestselling authors write their characters so well, that they don't even NEED verbs, and use them very rarely. Still, it is good to know that there are TONS of words out there to describe your character's mood. Feel free to add to the list, or create one of your own. Just make sure you check if I don't already have it. (i'll try to put it in at least some sort of order)
Aanswered agreed apologized asked announced attacked added askewed Bblurted begged boasted boomed barked bloomed blasted (blast) breathed burst began boiled/broiled bullied beckoned Ccommented cut chortled called cooed choked cried countered chirped claimed confessed Ddismissed droned deemed discouraged demanded Eexploded encouraged engaged exclaimed Ffired finished fluttered fumbled freaked floundered flirted flitted (flit) Ggrunted giggled gleamed glew [glow] grumbled groaned gritted grinned guessed Hhesitated hissed hummed Iinsisted interjected Jjoked joined jolted jittered Llaughed lulled lied loomed leered loosened Mmouthed motored mused monotoned Nnosed neared Oopted Ppurred provoked (or is it porvoked/prevoked?) plead/pleaded preached plundered Qquestioned quivered Rrevoked repeated read/recited rushed repsonded replied rambled roared rested reigned redeemed reckoned repented rasped Sscreamed started shrieked stammered spat shouted scoffed shook stumbled stuttered sang/sung signed (sign language) shot [back] sighed Ttold teased tattled twittered tweaked tended Uunderminded Vvied Wwhispered warned whipped [back] Yyelled yearned yawned yelped yipped
words thus far: 139 (or so i think, i just quickly counted them)
hopfully we can make this this a whole page long! if this becomes popular, making it a sticky wouuln't be a bad idea biggrin
i apologize for any spelling mistakes, as i always do.
write on!
-sakura
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:33 pm
Hmm, this is not necessarily where this is supposed to be posted.
But I like it, and believe it will help many.
So I will leave it for now, and make it s a sticky later.
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:54 pm
i dunno. I totally agree that "said" is used WAY too much in prose...but i also find myself strangely annoyed when it's obvious the writer is trying to avoid using it. sometimes the characters just SAY stuff. they don't always "bark" or "explode" or "gleam" words (to be honest, i'm not sure how you "gleam" words anyhow; it seems that'd be something that describes the character rather than replacing the word "said").
I find myself avoiding "said" by instead telling what the character is doing while talking. but i assume that's exactly what you mean mrgreen
and isn't "say/said" a verb...? i'm pretty sure it is... if i'm wrong, please do explain (seriously, because i need to know, lol).
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:33 pm
I think this is actually a good idea, although I don't agree about totally getting rid of said. Sure it's nice to add variety, but sometimes someone just needs to "say" something. I like the idea of a list though, it could come in handy.
Oh and said is a verb. xp
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:52 pm
Said is actually acceptable to use every time there's dialogue; it's grammatically correct. However, other words in place of said are not. You have to kinda balance them out. Some people just...SAY stuff.
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:57 pm
biggrin I love these kinds of lists. It's okay to use said a little bit, it's only bad when it makes the story boring.
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Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 10:35 pm
i had a feeling it was verbs...
i must have been thinking of the "ly" words.
OMG did i post this in the wrong place???!!
i'm sorry. i'm real bad for that. sweatdrop
since i'm also a bit of a manga artist, there are a few words in there that don't seem to make much sense, like gleam. i thought, if used in the right context, words like that can be used to desrcibe not how the character spoke, but how he looked while he was saying it. it's unusal words like that that add a bit of flavour to dialouge.
i do think that the word 'said' shouldn't be boycotted altogether, but it should be used sparingly. i use it once, maybe twice per page. (assuming there's a lot of dialouge on it) like i said, a lot of writers don't even use verbs to describe dialouge. they're so amazingly good at emotions, they don't even need it. trust me, it's true. if you don't believe me, go read your fave book again. scream
i didn't used to hate the word said. it's just that, after so many years of school and peer editing, i've come to hate it. one can only stand so much of it. sweatdrop
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:20 pm
i hear you on the peer editing making you hate certain parts of writing, lol.
you're right about good writers, though. that's actually a good tip that Stephen King endorses: don't use adverbs...ever. sort of.
i see what you mean about "gleam." I think I might use it as an afterthought, like:
"blah blah blah," her eyes gleamed with anticipation as she spoke.
This is a good idea, though. certainly.
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:46 pm
This is really cool, although don't be concerned when it dissapears in a few days, I'll just be moving it to the writing advice subforum!!!
Anyway, like people have said (HAHAHA I AM SO WITTY XD), "said" isn't completely dead...there really are times when you need to use it. The mark of a good writer is not avoiding "said" completely, but knowing when it is appropriate and when it's not.
My usual way to avoid said is just to do something like "'blahblahblah' her eyes could not quite meet his." Just like flicker, I'll describe what the character is doing.
But it is really handy to have a list of spare "said" replacement words...It's always good to give the reader extra hints into the character, and describing how they say something (instead of they say it, they explode or whisper or plead), it's a really easy way to set mood and tone and all that.
You can always tell when I'm writing a paper, I get into MAJOR anaylsis mode. XDD
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Posted: Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:07 pm
AHHHH ITS ANALYSIS WAFFLES!!!
*hides*
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Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:42 pm
As Stephen King said, "Don't be afraid to say the word "said", because throughout the times, people hav "said" a lot of things."
The reader tends to skim over words like "remarked, chriped, gleamed" and so on. That's why Stephen King (my favorite author) has been able to get away with just saying "said" for his entire career.
"Said" is like "The", common to the point where the writer thinks it's over-bearing, but the reader just accepts it and moves on.
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Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:36 pm
that's a great point, Zahmen, and I do remember reading that.
personally, i am fond of omitting the entire he said/gleamed/shrieked/etc. except, of course, for emphasis. like when a character ONLY says something, doing nothing else, but just lays it out. something dramatic like "i'm HIV positive" he said. even then...you don't need it unless you're not sure who's talking.
for the most part, it's unnecessary. sometimes you need it, though.
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Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:19 am
GAh! I love you!
*glomps, huggles, and saves this list to compy*
heart
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Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 5:51 am
I use said, demand, asked, replied, countered and yelled, or screamed as my words, depending on what they did say the apporiate word is followed with a blurb describing what they're doing or their expression.
ex:
"Don't be afraid, I've done this before." Damien replied to her unspoken fear.
"I don't get it." Sabrina said while the teacher showed her the problem, again.
Yeah, but that's just me.
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Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 9:35 am
What about 'interjected'? I myself use interjected with worrying regularity. xd
That said, ahahaha, I agree with the majority - 'said' is the best of them.
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