Do you have other words to use in your writing instead of thought?
Vary the way you show who's speaking in your dialogue. Use emotive other words for said to season characters' conversations. Yet seasoning shouldn't overpower substance. Use the content of what characters say, their movement, body language, pauses, and silences, to .
Thanks for your reply! I have to admit that after having posted my thoughts yesterday, I remembered that when I'm reading books written by authors like Austen and Dickens, I don't mind the varied attributions so much. Somehow, stylistically, things like "ejaculated" and "replied" and "murmured" seem to fit better in that kind of historical, sweeping literary style.I did have another thought on the subject, in general. As a freelance editor for fiction writers, I've seen a lot of the use of words like "sighed" and "laughed" and "chuckled" (etc.) in dialogue (e.g., "I can't understand it," she sighed). Those words in particular drive me crazy. Has anyone ever actually tried to "chuckle" speech? Or "sigh" words? You can sigh before or after speaking, but not as speech. Similarly, you can laugh before, in the middle of, or after having spoken, but you can't laugh speech. Perhaps it's more those attributions to which I find myself *really* objecting! :)
I agree with Alice. I once read a book in which the author used every word BUT "said" and "asked"... and I *hated* that book. The writing came off as amateur, and it seemed as though the author had done this just to sound smarter. Ironically, in most cases, the tag didn't even make sense, because it didn't actually have anything to do with vocalization, nor do many of the suggestions above. And it's true — words like this detract from the dialogue... Because that's all I remember about the book are those horrible tags. This is, in my opinion, lazy writing. There are much stronger ways to convey what a person is thinking, doing, feeling, etc.
Get our list of 270 words to use instead of 'said'.
Yeah, it does! I’m writing a story with my best friend and I had NO IDEA what to say instead of said, and then I found this!! You can guess what happened next! XD
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the subject, Krysten. It is a fine line between using dialogue tags in places to avoid ambiguity of expression and overusing them and coming across amateurish, as you say. Alice's suggestion of using actions instead of tags is another discussion but is a very effective way to keep the author's presence in the text less obtrusive.
yeah, I agree with the others. I don't think this is great advice. Favoring colorful alternatives to 'said' and 'asked' is just distracting and comes off as amateurish in my opinion. What trumps everything is clarity in the reader's mind. Don't use 'said' and then go on to describe how the character pounded the desk and his words echoed until they rang in everyone's ears--use 'shouted'. But for heaven's sake, don't use words like mused, sighed, and cajoled just for the sake of changing it up and keeping it fresh. I don't think there's a great risk of word fatigue if you use 'said'. Better yet, use nothing at all if you can get away with it.
Not always. ‘He said' and ‘she said' are often preferable because they do not draw the reader's attention to the fact they are reading written dialogue. They let characters' words do the emoting. 'Said' is the most common dialogue tag.
200+ Other Words For Said: Synonyms to Spice up Your Writing
Hi Sherbek,Thank you. When you say 'the context is leaving somewhere', do you mean it's a dialogue tag word indicating a character is leaving? I'd suggest using an action tag instead, e.g. "OK, sayonara, bye, whatever." He made air quotes on 'whatever' and slouched out of the room, trying to look as hip and disinterested as possible.'The benefit of an action tag is you can get quite specific about the way a person leaves. Saying 'he farewelled' or finding a similar way to squish a sense of departure into the dialogue tag would stick out and be less effective, for sure. I hope this is helpful.
Over 300 words to use instead of said - Steven P. Wickstrom
it is better to mostly use said. publishers will riject books that have too much other words instead of said because it is a sign of inexperience! 99% of the time you should use said!
130+ Other Words for Said: Using Synonyms In Your Writing
Yo. I have written a 30,000 word essay!!! I’ve written more in a book and I’m 12!!! I SO agree with Bree, emma, and DarlingCat11. You are rude and when someone (LIKE YOU) says “No offense”, WERE GONNA TAKE OFFENSE!!! So why are you on this page anyway? to be rude? so take you non-boring said and GET OUT OF HERE.
[PDF] SYNONYMS FOR SAID When writing academic papers you ..
So many unique and new ways to say ‘said’! I’m writing a short story essay for our dystopian unit in school, and this has helped SO much. Thank you 🙂
Synonyms For Say or Said - WiredPen
Agree and disagree. He was a little rude about it, but like I said in a reply above using too many complex words can actually make writing boring (believe it or not). Said should definately be used many times, but other words are important too! He’s saying don’t get carried away with fancy words! (I know from experience, I used a bunch of words I thought would make me sound sooo good, but after I finished I read it through and it sounded choppy, noobish, and… wrong, somehow.) I think this guy is just trying to save everyone from digging a hole they cant get out of. He could have been nicer about it, but we all make mistakes, (Even if he meant to be rude) I hope my comments helped clear things up with everyone. Said does get boring, DO NOT use it too much. But also DO NOT make your writing completely void of the word. If you want, use adverbs.
“I can help!” She said cheerfully,
I hope this helped! Everyone who is making a book, perservere, u can do anything if u put your mind to it. Get advice from others, read and reread. Your book may someday be a bestseller! Best of luck!