What are some suggestions of words that I can use in place of words like said, answered, replied or asked? I tend to use those four a lot and I need some different ideas.
What are some suggestions of words that I can use in place of words like said, answered, replied or asked? I tend to use those four a lot and I need some different ideas.
...it can convey greater depth of the character and the emotion tied to the dialogue... ?????
Don't.
No. Really. The dialogue should do that.
If it doesn't convey the emotion, there's something wrong with the dialogue.
"Don't." She hissed in angered warning...
"Don't." She said.
and
"You know you could always just pay the guy off."
"Don't!"She screamed in horrified amazement at the offered advice...
(the exclaimation mark is enough to convey the feeling in response)
The boys climbed onto the couch's arm, balanced for an impending leap.
"Don't."She hissed in angered warning...
(If "she" has been established as mom or caregiver, the reader will get the intent of it being a warning.)
He eyed that spot behind her knee - the only one she'd admit was ticklish - and dove.
"Don't."She teased playfully...She doubled over, guarding her legs from the playful assualt.
(Not only is "teased playfully" redundant, it's unnecessary. Add action if you need to clarify something.)
So much can be missed with generic tags.... IMHO... Yes, and so much can be ruined by adding ones you don't need.
Bleh... If the action's done right, you don't need tags.
Quote:Originally Posted by Brindle Chase
"Don't." She said.
and
"You know you could always just pay the guy off."
"Don't!" She screamed in horrified amazement at the offered advice...
(the exclaimation mark is enough to convey the feeling in response)
The boys climbed onto the couch's arm, balanced for an impending leap.
This gives the action of the boys, nothing about the speaker. The exclamation point does express some emotion - however, which emotion? Fear? Shock? Amazement? Horror? Even hidden pride? We have no idea.
"Don't." She hissed in angered warning...
(If "she" has been established as mom or caregiver, the reader will get the intent of it being a warning.)
He eyed that spot behind her knee - the only one she'd admit was ticklish - and dove.
"Don't." She teased playfully... She doubled over, guarding her legs from the playful assualt.
(Not only is "teased playfully" redundant, it's unnecessary. Add action if you need to clarify something.)
This example maybe okay in a romance., but it will lose it's meaning elsewhere. Again, perhaps in a larger context it may work. However, here it does not you still do not know how the speaker feels regarding the playful touch. Is she a willing participant? Sometimes, just not now? Never with this person? There is too much guess work for the reader.
If the reader has to guess at the characters emotions too much, then the characters look like card board cut-outs, and the reader puts the book down. it all depends on what you are trying to get across, and if the characters emotions are important here. If the reader has to stop and wonder why the character has no emotions whatsoever, very few will be inclined to read.
So much can be missed with generic tags.... IMHO... Yes, and so much can be ruined by adding ones you don't need.
Not necessarily the case. Sure, your examples protray an action, however, they do not designate any emotion, or idea what the charachter is feeling or thinking. You leave it entirely up to the reader to guess what the character is feeling. While the reader may want to make up some things, sometimes, direction is essential to understanding the plot. Action is not emotion.
Some people are so afraid of, or ashamed of, adjectives and adverbs to such a degree that they will use five, or a dozen words to replace one word, and yet say nothing, while that one word made everything crystal clear.
Do you want to be spoon-fed everything, told "She was angry?" Or do you want to be shown, from the way she stomps into the room, slams the door and glares at someone?
It is important to say what you mean, and mean what you say.
As for me, and most readers I know, if something is important, make it clear, don't disguise it.
Stating a simple fact - an emotion is not being "spoonfed."
It is important to say what you mean, and mean what you say. It is often easier to simply state something and then move the story onward, rather than spending a lot of time on hiding that one important aspect within a lot of words so that the reader may, or may not get the meaning.
Of course, some people love pretty prose and guessing games.
As for me, and most readers I know, if something is important, make it clear, don't disguise it.
Adtabb and others...several people here (some experienced writers) have cautioned about use of adverbs and the problems with telling instead of showing. beginning author in the eyes of agents and editors.
Emotion and intent (motivation) should be shown to the writer in the majority of cases, and that involves crafting the scene so the actions/reactions and dialogue of the characters provide intent and emotion. That's good writing.
One of the best pieces of advice writers are given is to read, read, read. If you read widely you'll see what is considered acceptable by authors, publishers and readers. When you've done that, you'll probably find it interesting to come back and go through the responses in this thread.What are some suggestions of words that I can use in place of words like said, answered, replied or asked? I tend to use those four a lot and I need some different ideas.
I am not advocating using adverbs and adjectives for everything, but they do exist for a reason.
The fact is, physical actions do not tell the whole story either. In the US alone, half the country would react one way to a character who stares, and the other half would react another.
Just because a physical action means one thing to you, does not mean it means the same thing to the reader, or the character. Calirification is sometimes needed. Not in every instance, but sometimes, yes. Remember, not just you, or those identical to you will read your writing.
People older than you, people younger than you, people who are healthy, peope who have memory problems will attempt to read your writing.
Readers buy what is available. If all they have is pure action stories with little connection to the character available, that is all they will buy. In large part, the way you write should be determined by the audience reading.
You wouldn't go up to your great granmother and start talking about HTML codes without any reference would you? Sometimes that is what happens when there is nothing but action in novels. it just flies along so fast, the reader never feels conneted to the character.
Are you writing for people who want action? Are you writing refelcetion?
Are you remembering to use the five senses in your writing? Or just writing sight only?
There is a time and a place for every part of the language in writing. None should be overused, none can be ignored at all times. Some aspects are approprite for most writing, some only for a very few places.
The attitude I see here so many times is someone saying that something should never ever be used. If you think so, petition the colleges, the schools, the government, and the dictionaries to ban those words. "Never" is a strong word. Only use it when you have to. there is a time and a place for everything.
"Don't!" She screamed in horrified amazement at the offered advice...
The thread was getting very crowded. "Who's going to post next?" scarletpeaches asked.
The thread was getting very crowded. scarletpeaches sighed at Jerry B. Flory's avatar. "Who's going to post next?"
Asked, replied and questioned are unnecessary. The presence of a question mark makes it obvious that it's a question.
Unless you need to clarify who is speaking, but even then I would describe an action rather than tag it.
So instead of:
I'd have something like:
"She screamed like a bunny in a blender."