Words to replace said

tak

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taken from tumblr, seems helpful so i'm sharing
Acknowledged
Answered
Protested
Added
Implored
Inquired
Insisted
Proposed
Queried
Questioned
Recommended
Testified
Admitted
Apologized
Conceded
Confessed
Professed
Advised
Criticized
Suggested
Affirmed
Agreed
Alleged
Confirmed
Announced
Chanted
Crowed
Appealed
Disclosed
Moaned
^I have no idea why those are grouped together
Argued
Barked
Challenged
Cursed
Fumed
Growled
Hissed
Roared
Swore
Articulated
Asserted
Assured
Avowed
Claimed
Commanded
Cross-examined
Demanded
Digressed
Directed
Foretold
Instructed
Interrupted
Predicted
Proclaimed
Quoted
Theorized
Bellowed
Boasted
Bragged
Babbled
Bawled
Mumbled
Sputtered
Stammered
Stuttered
Bargained
Divulged
Disclosed
Exhorted
Began
Concluded
Concurred
Begged
Blurted
Complained
Cried
Faltered
Fretted
Cajoled
Exclaimed
Gushed
Jested
Joked
Laughed
Extolled
Jabbered
Raved
Cautioned
Warned
Chided
Contended
Corrected
Countered
Debated
Elaborated
Objected
Ranted
Retorted
Commented
Continued
Observed
Surmised
Enunciated
Explained
Elaborated
Hinted
Implied
Lectured
Reiterated
Recited
Reminded
Stressed
Confided
Offered
Urged
Consented
Decided
Croaked
Lamented
Pledged
Sobbed
Sympathized
Wailed
Whimpered
Declared
Decreed
Mentioned
Noted
Pointed out
Postulated
Speculated
Stated
Told
Vouched
Denied
Lied
Dictated
Equivocated
Ordered
Reprimanded
Threatened
Droned
Sighed
Echoed
Mumbled
Murmured
Muttered
Uttered
Whispered
Exaggerated
Panted
Pleaded
Prayed
Preached
Gasped
Marveled
Screamed
Screeched
Shouted
Shrieked
Yelped
Yelled
Grumbled
Grunted
Jeered
Quipped
Scolded
Snapped
Snarled
Sneered
Nagged
Guessed
Ventured
Hooted
Howled
Yowled
Pondered
Voiced
Wondered
Recalled
Recited
Remembered
Revealed
Scoffed
Snickered
Snorted
Tattled
Taunted
Teased
 
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kineticblast

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This is the kindest thing I have ever read, I was getting sick of saying said all they time!
 
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yansusustories

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I just leave 'said' or anything similar out most of the time. Isn't it obvious that someone is saying something if it's in quotation marks? And the speaker should be clear from the context in most cases.
 
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tak

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I just leave 'said' or anything similar out most of the time. Isn't it obvious that someone is saying something if it's in quotation marks? And the speaker should be clear from the context in most cases.
it's fine, this is for if you want some variety.
 

tak

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I request an onomatopoeia list.
oh boi i would love if someone can get that. but then again, writing sound effect in novels can be more complicated than in comics. in comic, you can use the fonts and colors to convey the mood. in literature, you paint the picture with comparisons and figurative stuff, right?
this video talks about descriptive writing. i'm still not goot at it yet.
edit: more on onomatopoeia rant!
since this is scribble hub, you can just make up words and add footnote to explain what it means.
you can use other language's onomatopoeia because usually it sounds similar. but. apparently, woof in Chinese is fei. so be careful.
i don't know why but my search result is flooded with "microwave is an onomatopoeia"
 
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GDLiZy

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Just write the actions accompanied with the conversation like "ROMANTIC WORDS" Extending her hand, A caress B's face.
 
D

Deleted member 5560

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I just leave 'said' or anything similar out most of the time. Isn't it obvious that someone is saying something if it's in quotation marks? And the speaker should be clear from the context in most cases.
Eeeeh, if there are only two people and they're having a limited conversation, yes. But if there are three or four people in the scene all talking to each other, it can get hard to keep tabs on who is saying what based merely on context clues, and it gets worse if it's a very long dialogue scene - let's say five pages of back and forth dialogue. Peppering that dialogue with dialogue tags and actions can be a good way to break up the monotony and make it less dry.

Dialogue tags are also an important writing tool to convey mood and meaning, which is why changing up what dialogue tags you use is good not just to avoid repetition, but to clearly convey how the characters are feeling. The same piece of dialogue can have a different effect depending on how you frame it. Just using a "!" can convey immediacy, but then using different tags can change the context of that immediacy.

"That's what I told him!" < Based on punctuation alone, we know the character is agitated but nothing beyond that.
vs.
"That's what I told him!" She wailed. < The character is highly emotional and deeply upset.
vs.
"That's what I told him!" She screamed. < The character isn't upset, she's angry and lashing out verbally.
vs.
"That's what I told him!" She screeched, slamming her fists down onto the table. < The character has completely blown her top, has now lost her composure, and is physically lashing out.

Not using dialogue tags has its place - if you want to write fast, punchy dialogue, for example, dialogue tags will slow down the pace of the conversation. Since it's a cultural touchstone by now, think of the sharp, quippy dialogue of Tony Stark in the Iron Man+Avengers movies: if you were to transcribe that into dialogue you'd probably be writing it without dialogue tags to convey that punchy feeling of him always coming up with sarcastic witticisms on the fly. Less can definitely be more in the right circumstance!

But dialogue tags serve a purpose besides just "designating the active speaker", and you can miss a lot of opportunities to expand on the personalities or emotions of your characters by not using and utilising a variety of dialogue tags. Simply saying "she had a shy personality" won't be as effective to the audience as writing "she timidly whispered" in the dialogue tags, or whatever.
 

yansusustories

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But dialogue tags serve a purpose besides just "designating the active speaker", and you can miss a lot of opportunities to expand on the personalities or emotions of your characters by not using and utilising a variety of dialogue tags. Simply saying "she had a shy personality" won't be as effective to the audience as writing "she timidly whispered" in the dialogue tags, or whatever.
That's what I meant when I said 'most of the time' and 'in most cases' 😁 Naturally, there is a place for everything but tags are often overdone. I seriously don't want to write or see a dialog where every utterance is accompanied by either said or some synonym. That should IMO still be the exception. Otherwise, it'll lose whatever impact it originally had on me.
But tags are often a question of style too. There are people that use 'said' every time and people who like reading that. And then there are people who like to come up with a thousand synonyms so it won't sound repetitive and they also have readers. Just like there are people who don't use tags most of the time and are happy with that.
I think every way is valid if it fits the personal style and the story. I had just wanted to add that I, personally, don't use tags that often because I feel them to be unnecessary in most cases (to me). It's still good to have a list where you can look stuff up if you do need a synonym though for those special cases :sneaky: Maybe I didn't word that well enough
 
D

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Yes, I misunderstood. Everyone has their own style of writing. I also didn't mean to come off like I was railing at you thought it very obviously looks that way :blob_pat_sad: really only the first paragraph was a direct response, I just wanted to use your post as a jumping off point to open up general discussion on how (to those who want to use dialogue tags) using a diversity of dialogue tags should go beyond just avoiding repetition and cycling through synonyms of "said", and also be utilised as a way to convey mood and character, just like any other tool in an author's tool belt, and give examples of how using a variance of tags can add a much stronger image to speech.
 

yansusustories

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Yes, I misunderstood. Everyone has their own style of writing. I also didn't mean to come off like I was railing at you thought it very obviously looks that way :blob_pat_sad: really only the first paragraph was a direct response, I just wanted to use your post as a jumping off point to open up general discussion on how (to those who want to use dialogue tags) using a diversity of dialogue tags should go beyond just avoiding repetition and cycling through synonyms of "said", and also be utilised as a way to convey mood and character, just like any other tool in an author's tool belt, and give examples of how using a variance of tags can add a much stronger image to speech.
Ah, don't worry! I didn't understand it that way. I did see it as a nice starting point of a discussion. I just read over my own previous message and thought I left out about half of what I was thinking at that time so I wanted to add a bit to it. I totally agree with everything you said before! 😁
 

taesijr123

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Holy shit i needed this...
My story is technically full of Said.
 

Chiisutofupuru

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Said is the invisible word and is very useful for clarity (clarity is important in a fiction).
If you use tags other than 'said', they are noticed and read with more consideration.

Sometimes a tag (other than said) can be redundant.
"Awe common, not again," she complained.
- is obviously a complaint so she complained is redundant
"Who are you?" he questioned.
-is obviously a question so he questioned is redundant

A movement as a tag can be incorrect.
"It just is," she frowned.
-It's impossible to frown anything you say. Words can be accompanied by a frown, a frown can stand on its own, but words cannot be frowned.

I'd consider the list above useful for those situations you want to paint a clearer picture, but in my opinion, the word said (a lot of the time) is irreplaceable because it is invisible to most readers.

I'd feel bad if I didn't give credit to this link: http://www.novelmatters.com/2010/01/invisible-word_29.html
 

YuriDoggo

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I personally rarely use things other than said, whisper, shouted, cried, and other basics like this. I think that too many said replacements makes it a thesaurus salad and will likely take me out of my immersion if I catch it. You risk falling into the trap of using things that sound like synonyms but really aren't.
 

Lukha

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Lmao those tags :blob_joy: Much appreciated! I definitely agree with TypeAxiom though in that using too many word replacements can make it a very crunchy thesaurus salad, so finding a balance is important! Also, if you're still thinking about how to develop your writing, it's not really good to start throwing in words you don't necessarily know how to use correctly or words that may seem similar but be inappropriate in the context of your writing.
 

lnv

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I request an onomatopoeia list.
oh boi i would love if someone can get that. but then again, writing sound effect in novels can be more complicated than in comics. in comic, you can use the fonts and colors to convey the mood. in literature, you paint the picture with comparisons and figurative stuff, right?
this video talks about descriptive writing. i'm still not goot at it yet.
edit: more on onomatopoeia rant!
since this is scribble hub, you can just make up words and add footnote to explain what it means.
you can use other language's onomatopoeia because usually it sounds similar. but. apparently, woof in Chinese is fei. so be careful.
i don't know why but my search result is flooded with "microwave is an onomatopoeia"

Here is what I use:

 

tak

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Here is what I use:

may i also add to everyone reading these, it includes words to describe colors. not only by associating it with similiars colored object but also with related adjective and attributes
 

tiaf

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FD62430B-9909-4DEE-864C-7930968ACBA5.jpeg
|.ㅇ)
 

MadmanRB

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Yeah, I have been intentionally trying to avoid the word "said" as really it doesn't always give my characters or story its flare.
That and asked, yes some don't like unusual dialog tags but they can be a good indicator of your characters personalities and the like.
 
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