- Joined
- Feb 12, 2005
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- 2,922
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- Website
- gorokandwulf.blogspot.com
On a site for younger writers, I came across some bizarre writing advice. And then I saw it on another site, and another. Here's one example. And there are sites all over the Internet, telling kids that "Said Is Dead" and they should always endeavour to replace it with "more interesting words."
Yikes. I don't know whether I should or
Apparently it can all be traced back to vocabulary building exercises where teachers told students they should replace "said" with other verbs -- but forgot to tell them that they knew as much about writing publishable fiction as my neighbor's dog.
Sadly, some kids have taken this advice seriously. Yes, they believe this stuff! Not only have some put up "helpful" sites with lots of said bookisms, but I've even seen a reader review on Amazon where the reader asked "Hasn't this author heard of 'Said Is Dead'?" I shrieked, "No! She hasn't, because she's a professional, and she knows better!"
Seeing stuff likes this makes me appreciate the advice at this site even more.
Yikes. I don't know whether I should or
Apparently it can all be traced back to vocabulary building exercises where teachers told students they should replace "said" with other verbs -- but forgot to tell them that they knew as much about writing publishable fiction as my neighbor's dog.
Sadly, some kids have taken this advice seriously. Yes, they believe this stuff! Not only have some put up "helpful" sites with lots of said bookisms, but I've even seen a reader review on Amazon where the reader asked "Hasn't this author heard of 'Said Is Dead'?" I shrieked, "No! She hasn't, because she's a professional, and she knows better!"
Seeing stuff likes this makes me appreciate the advice at this site even more.