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w00t

Found this on a site, and for some people it might be quite useful, and for others not so much. (I do these things when I'm bored, go to random sites to learn new words...And people think I'm looking at porn! )


Anger/Annoyance

argued
asserted
barked
bawled
bellowed
complained
countered
cried
demanded
disagreed
exclaimed
fussed
growled
grumbled
hissed
howled
huffed
quipped
ranted
raved
retorted
roared
screamed
screeched
shrieked
snapped
snarled
sneered
sputtered
squawked
yelled



Questions

asked
answered
agreed
begged
disagreed
explained
implored
inquired
interrogated
posed (as in a question or theory)
pressed
pried
proposed
queried
questioned
replied
requested
responded
retorted
suggested



Softly

breathed
croaked
gasped
grumbled
hissed
mumbled
murmured
muttered
prayed
purred
squeaked
whispered
whimpered


Loudly

barked
bawled
bellowed
called
cried
exclaimed
hollered
howled
roared
screamed
screeched
shouted
shrieked
squawked
wailed
yelled
yammered

Master List

added
agreed
answered
argued
asked
asserted (making a point)
avowed
babbled
barked
bawled
beckoned
begged
bellowed
bid (him/her/it)
blubbered
blurted
breathed
called
carried on
chastised
chattered (on)
chorused (in a group or in agreement)
chuckled
claimed
clarified
commanded
complained
confessed
confided
continued
countered
cried
croaked
declared
demanded
disagreed
droned (on - i.e. Professor Binns)
exclaimed
explained
fussed
gabbed
gasped
giggled
groaned
growled
grumbled
gushed
hissed
hollered
howled
huffed
implored
inquired
insisted
interrogated (questioning)
jabbered (on)
jested
joked
laughed
lied
mentioned
moaned
mumbled
murmured
mused
muttered
nagged
objected
ordered
persuaded
pestered
plead
posed (as in a question or theory)
prattled on
prayed
pressed (as in questioning or demanding something)
pried (as in asking for information)
proclaimed
proposed
protested
purred
queried
questioned
quipped
rambled
ranted
raved
reasoned
related (as in a story)
remarked
repeated
replied
requested
responded
retorted
roared
screamed
screeched
shouted
shrieked
sighed
snapped
snarled (i.e. Professor Snape)
sneered
sobbed
sputtered
squawked
squeaked (out - i.e. Professor Flitwick)
stammered
stated
stuttered
suggested
thought aloud
told (him, her, it)
urged
uttered
voiced
wailed
whimpered
whined
whinged
whispered
yammered
yelled

Hope to those who needed it, got help from this

And to those who don't need it, well....Good for you.

vincent

Wow. This was the kind of thing I have been looking for. This help me a lot Thanks! Good discovery

Thanks.

Originally posted by Vinny Valentine
barked
haermm

teh cleverness of vinny... :3

This is quite interesting indeed! XD

Thanks.

http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1732/piece26nz3.gif

"And then there was light,"

Nice find.

I've found that I rarely use said now , or any derivative thereof. My writing usually goes

*Story*

"Dialogue"

*Story*

Amazing! I have problems with using said too much

Originally posted by Vinny Valentine


w00t

Found this on a site, and for some people it might be quite useful, and for others not so much. (I do these things when I'm bored, go to random sites to learn new words...And people think I'm looking at porn! )

vincent

Wait you don't?

Originally posted by xEsaulx
Amazing! I have problems with using said too much



Wait you don't?

What?

I was basically quoting this:

And people think I'm looking at porn

And I said wait you don't?

Oh, Well.

I do about 98.5% of the time.

I so beat you with 0%
(I know how lame)

Wow. So that's really what guys do when they're at home. Nice words anyway. Very useful.

cool. been looking for one of these...

I personally think that 'said' should be the only word used when writing. Rarely do readers pay much attention to the words describing what's being said. Let the words speak for themselves. And if absolutely necessary, use adverbs

Originally posted by Strangelove
I personally think that 'said' should be the only word used when writing. Rarely do readers pay much attention to the words describing what's being said. Let the words speak for themselves. And if absolutely necessary, use adverbs

Of course this is all opinion but, how many New York times #1 Book, or book of the year have had an author who only uses 'said' ?

Originally posted by Vinny Valentine
Of course this is all opinion but, how many New York times #1 Book, or book of the year have had an author who only uses 'said' ? Why is using words other than said so important? I don't understand it.

Originally posted by Strangelove
Why is using words other than said so important? I don't understand it. Depends on the context. Like, say if a demon says "I'm going to kill you!", I think roared, hissed, sneered, is a little more appropriate.

Demons are rarely so blunt ermm

Originally posted by Strangelove
Why is using words other than said so important? I don't understand it.

yeah man, why even bother writing, i mean, how important is using words?

we should just draw stories

Hey Vinny you forgot 'convayed' great words ive used most of them already though. you forgot this one lol

Originally posted by Strangelove
I personally think that 'said' should be the only word used when writing. Rarely do readers pay much attention to the words describing what's being said. Let the words speak for themselves.
For the most part, I agree. Depending on the dialogue scene, 'said' and 'asked' can carry virtually the whole shebang, with maybe one or two alternatives thrown in to keep it fresh. And good writing is when you don't notice the words, only the story (told to me in one of the few personally-written rejection letters I've gotten).

Personally, I've found overuse of the word "said" (or like descriptors for speech) to be distracting. For example, reading Jurassic Park, I was constantly torn from my place within the fiction by nearly each line of dialogue being ended or otherwise interrupted by the word "said."

BTW: "Quod/quoth" was unjustly absent from the list of words.

"What are you doing?" The trooper asked.
Jak turned and said. "I'm just tying my shoes."
"Oh, really. Get up!" The trooper said grabbing him and hauling Jak up.
"Ow. Hey!" Jak said.
The trooper shoved him forward with a push. "Walk." He said. Then lodged the nozzel of the blaster rifle between Jaks shoulder blades. It whined as it powered up.
Jak tried talking to the Stormtrooper. "You gonna kill me?" Jak said. Asking the trooper.
The trooper smiled behind his helmet. "You will find out soon enough." He said, then said. "No more talk you rebel scum." They coninued in silence...

End.

Now I used 'said' where i could have used other words. It does reduce the quality of the work/story.

"What are you doing?" the trooper asked.
Jak turned and said, "I"m just tying my shoes."
"Oh, really. Get up!" The trooper grabbed and hauled Jak to his feet.
"Ow. Hey!" Jak said.
The trooper shoved him forward with a push. "Walk," he ordered, lodging the nozzle of the blaster between Jak's shoulder blades. The weapon whined as it powered up.
Jak tried talking to the Stormtrooper. "You gonna kill me?" he asked.
The trooper smiled behind his helmet. "You will find out soon enough. No more talk, you rebel scum."
They continued in silence.


All things in moderation.

Now thats how I would have done it anyway. I was just giving an exanple of over-use. Compare both scenes, although similar they differ in feel and pace. Said pauses the continuity of the scene.

You used 'ordered' instead of 'said' once, Mindship. ^^

I think 'said' can be used about half of the time, and more complex verbs should be added to give some extra feel to it...

this is so stupid what is it about

Said is dead cool

I actually use 'said' when I don't want to call attention to the word that describes 'said.' So basically, if I want the dialogue to be the focus, I use 'said.' If I want the tone or implication of the words to also be immediately recognized, I deviate from 'said.' Don't be afraid to use it just because it is supposedly the most bland way of having a quote. It has its place.

Still, fun list that I just saw today for the first time.

Personally I find it more effective to simply not say who's speaking. Just put the line of dialogue out there without much else. I find that doing it this way makes you more alert to trying to specify the verbal nuances and differences between separate characters in order to clarify who is speaking, rather than falling back on using "he said, she said" and what have you. Also that simply feels like clutter, to me.

That can usually work if you only have two people conversing, but it gets confusing when you up it to three or more. Then you really aren't sure who is speaking unless they have very distinct speaking patterns written for them.

Yes absolutely true. Thankfully my stuff isn't dialogue heavy so it rarely happens so that more than 3 people are talking at once.

Originally posted by xEsaulx
Amazing! I have problems with using said too much


same haermm
it gets a little repetitve

writing was created before we could make movies, now we should just write plots and make movies, such an efficient way to convey emotion

Something I came across that describes my feelings on this rather well.

http://www.lerwill.net/Margo/Writing/Said%20bookisms.htm

I find that using other words in place of said/say is rarely helpful and usually just distracts the reader.

Whisper/shout/yell/ask/mutter/murmur are the only ones I use and even then only if I want to convey a particular emotion/tenor, not just for the sake of "variety"

This list will help me a lot. I have lots of these written down already because I copied them down while reading a Robert McCammon book. He uses the wondrously descriptive words.
I did see that you didn't include "went on," which I use in my own writing.
Thanks again.