Question about writing English
- Locked due to inactivity on Aug 4, '16 4:35pm
Thread Topic: Question about writing English
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I am getting mixed answers. When writing talking, there are two suggestions I have heard. Some say "Said is dead" and should use more interesting verbs. Others say use said majority of time. What is the truth? Can you write either way?
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Said is dead if you're wanting to write a story, honestly. At least that's what I've always been taught. If you're writing any story, instead of saying "said" you'd want to say "explained" or "choked out" or "spoke softly," but it all depends on what you're writing or what's happening. If you're just having a normal conversation, like over the internet or text or something, hell even in real life, yeah, use "said" all you want.
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Thank you for response. English is not my native language, so this helped very much.
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You're very welcome, Mr. Putin.
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Don't listen to Funnie, he's lying!
The attribution 'said' is fine. In fact, when readers are skimming along through a novel at warp speed, the word said is just like a punctuation markit doesnt even register in readers minds (unless used incorrectly, and it would be hard to do that).
But if you draw attention to the fact the character is speaking, you risk losing your audience in frustration. You risk breaking verisimilitude.
If you really need to break the monotony, then have the characters do a beat of action, such as leaning back or smiling. Action portrays character better than any synonym for said ever will. -
Thank you, that does make sense. I'll use action if word said is too redundant.
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