31-daysofhorror

[31-daysofhorror]

[31-daysofhorror]

Sorry if things slow down on the blog for the next week. I haven't had a chance to fill the queue and I have a market next weekend so I'm very busy crocheting

normal posting should return on July 14th

[31-daysofhorror]

100 Dialogue Tags You Can Use Instead of “Said”

For the writers struggling to rid themselves of the classic ‘said’. Some are repeated in different categories since they fit multiple ones (but those are counted once so it adds up to 100 new words). 

1. Neutral Tags 

Straightforward and unobtrusive dialogue tags: 

Added, Replied, Stated, Remarked, Responded, Observed, Acknowledged, Commented, Noted, Voiced, Expressed, Shared, Answered, Mentioned, Declared.

2. Questioning Tags 

Curious, interrogative dialogue tags:

Asked, Queried, Wondered, Probed, Inquired, Requested, Pondered, Demanded, Challenged, Interjected, Investigated, Countered, Snapped, Pleaded, Insisted.

3. Emotive Tags 

Emotional dialogue tags:

Exclaimed, Shouted, Sobbed, Whispered, Cried, Hissed, Gasped, Laughed, Screamed, Stammered, Wailed, Murmured, Snarled, Choked, Barked.

4. Descriptive Tags 

Insightful, tonal dialogue tags: 

Muttered, Mumbled, Yelled, Uttered, Roared, Bellowed, Drawled, Spoke, Shrieked, Boomed, Snapped, Groaned, Rasped, Purred, Croaked.

5. Action-Oriented Tags 

Movement-based dialogue tags: 

Announced, Admitted, Interrupted, Joked, Suggested, Offered, Explained, Repeated, Advised, Warned, Agreed, Confirmed, Ordered, Reassured, Stated.

6. Conflict Tags 

Argumentative, defiant dialogue tags:

Argued, Snapped, Retorted, Rebuked, Disputed, Objected, Contested, Barked, Protested, Countered, Growled, Scoffed, Sneered, Challenged, Huffed.

7. Agreement Tags 

Understanding, compliant dialogue tags: 

Agreed, Assented, Nodded, Confirmed, Replied, Conceded, Acknowledged, Accepted, Affirmed, Yielded, Supported, Echoed, Consented, Promised, Concurred.

8. Disagreement Tags 

Resistant, defiant dialogue tags: 

Denied, Disagreed, Refused, Argued, Contradicted, Insisted, Protested, Objected, Rejected, Declined, Countered, Challenged, Snubbed, Dismissed, Rebuked.

9. Confused Tags 

Hesitant, uncertain dialogue tags:

Stammered, Hesitated, Fumbled, Babbled, Mumbled, Faltered, Stumbled, Wondered, Pondered, Stuttered, Blurted, Doubted, Confessed, Vacillated.

10. Surprise Tags

Shock-inducing dialogue tags:

Gasped, Stunned, Exclaimed, Blurted, Wondered, Staggered, Marvelled, Breathed, Recoiled, Jumped, Yelped, Shrieked, Stammered.

Note: everyone is entitled to their own opinion. No I am NOT telling people to abandon said and use these. Yes I understand that said is often good enough, but sometimes you WANT to draw attention to how the character is speaking. If you think adding an action/movement to your dialogue is 'good enough' hate to break it to you but that ruins immersion much more than a casual 'mumbled'. And for the last time: this is just a resource list, CALM DOWN. Hope that covers all the annoyingly redundant replies :)

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors!

Instagram Tiktok

[31-daysofhorror]

Friendly reminder that you should

Write that fic

Draw your OC

Redesign that blorbo

Plan that comic how you want

Create the content you want to see

Be cringe

Be free

The only thing that matters is you having fun! Not what others think!

[31-daysofhorror]

editing is just you vs. past-you in a duel of questionable comma placement and emotional instability

[31-daysofhorror]

David McElwee

[31-daysofhorror]

Day 11 Prompt: Air

Something felt off to Ryan.

He couldn’t place what it was, but he could feel it in the air.

Shaking the weird feeling, Ryan returned his focus to the magazine in his hands, but he had a hard time paying attention. The sound machine was too loud, mimicking soft shores and birds cawing, while Ryan sat waiting for his appointment with his therapist, Dr. Moira Lance.

The door to Dr. Lance’s office opened. Ryan tried not to stare as the patient left, but it was always awkward in these situations. He waited until they said their goodbyes and then he gave Dr. Lance a smile.

“Ryan, lovely to see you,” Dr. Lance said, almost as if forced. “Come on in.” The two entered the office, Dr. Lance stood by the door to close it as Ryan walked in. “Please have a seat.” She sat in a high-backed chair next to Ryan as he sat on the loveseat. On a pedestal next to her, Dr. Lance grabbed her notebook and pen before sitting back and getting comfortable. “So, how has it been going?”

Ryan started to detail the events of his past week, but he had the strongest sense of deja vu about the things he was saying. It were as though he’d already said them before, almost like he’d been in this session with Dr. Lance more than once. “I feel so confused.”

“What are you confused about?” she asked. Her eyes flashed an intense white light, as if there were a circuit malfunction.

Ryan stood from the loveseat. “What’s going on here?”

Dr. Lance became limp. The lights brightened and the walls vanished.

People in white jackets stood behind windows holding clipboards. They wrote things down and spoke to each other in whispers.

“What’s happening?” Ryan said with a shaky voice. He felt a cold sweat break out on his neck. Fear made his knees wobbly. “Where am I?”

A voice came over an intercom. “Alright. We’ll try double the dosage. Reset.”

Someone appeared next to Ryan in a flash, injecting him with an unknown substance.

Ryan didn’t have time to process the pain before everything changed, reverting back to the waiting room outside Dr. Lance’s office.

This time, Ryan felt fine. Nothing in the air felt off.

[31-daysofhorror]

[31-daysofhorror]

Write a piece about a lingering sense of unease

[31-daysofhorror]

31 - EPILOGUE

I was six the first time I met the monster under the bed.

The one that wrapped me up in swathes of darkness while my parents fought, their voices louder and more aggressive the older I got.

The one that hummed discordant songs in my ear whenever my dad would pause in the hallway, his shadow stretching under the door.

The one that whispered where to find the cleaver, just in case I needed it.

I was still afraid of it, of course I was, it was a monster, but it never hurt me.

I was eleven the first time the monster came out.

Stuck in a situation that I couldn’t escape.

Stuck with a fear that froze my limps cold.

Stuck wanting to destroy someone that was trying to destroy me.

I was still afraid of it, of course I was, it was a monster, but it never hurt me.

I was twenty-six when I figured out that there had never been a monster under the bed all.

Just the realization that no one else was going to save me.

Just a scared kid in a shitty situation with a brain that rests a little bit left of center and a special kind of magic at my fingertips.

Just shadows thick enough to bite and a desire to hurt someone.

I’m not afraid of it anymore.

I don’t know how I became this way or why I hid it from myself for so long but I’ve learned that it runs in the family. On my dad’s side.

Which is kind of ironic when you think about it.

Except, I don’t think about it anymore.

I don’t think about much of anything.

I only feed. Because I'm so fucking hungry.

30 - NAIL || THE END!

[31-daysofhorror]

Write a piece about something horrifying in the refrigerator

[31-daysofhorror]

They found something unexpected in the back yard.

[31-daysofhorror]

Well the people have spoken!

The poll results came in and the winner was a Tumblr Community. I have heard your wishes and you can find the her community here!

Anyone and everyone is welcome to join, so long as you like horror.

[31-daysofhorror]

Writer's Block

You’re staring at the page. The cursor blinks like it’s taunting you. You want to write—hell, you even know what you want to write about—but it’s like your brain’s frozen. That, my friend, is the all-too-familiar little bitch known as writer’s block.

So, how do you fight it?

Here’s what’s helped me, and maybe it'll help you too.

1. Write anything, even if it’s trash

Seriously. Open a doc and let yourself write the worst possible version of what you’re trying to say. No pressure. No editing. You can always clean it up later. A messy first draft is better than no draft.

2. Change your scenery

Sometimes your brain just needs a different view. Go outside. Sit at a café. Write on your phone instead of your laptop. A small change can trick your brain into feeling inspired again.

3. Idea dump

Forget structure. Forget plot. Just go full chaos mode. Rant about your characters, the scene, or how much writing sucks today. That little brain dump might lead you to a breakthrough.

4. Read something short and good

A poem. A Tumblr post. A flash fiction piece. Sometimes reading a spark of good writing reminds your brain how fun words can be.

5. Accept the block, but don’t leave it there

Writer’s block is normal. It doesn’t mean you’re broken. It just means your brain’s buffering. Rest, hydrate, and be gentle with yourself. Then try again.

---

Writing is weird. Some days it flows like magic, and other days it’s like dragging your soul through the trenches. But if you’re stuck, don't give up on it— the words will come back.

[31-daysofhorror]

Official ominous sign

[31-daysofhorror]

There's a place where living armor still walks.

It's an old battlefield. A location of a particularly bad memory for some cultures. There are ruined buildings, undetonated bombs, corpses, so many corpses. But what lasted the longest was the power armor. The armor that still walks.

They're old models of power armor. Made way back before the mega corporations started getting cheap with the internal processes of such things. Decades pass and they're still functioning. And they way they were made; they would do anything they need to to make sure they're whoever is inside doesn't die.

They're capable of automatically walking if the user isn't able to walk. And in their automatic walking mode they're capable of running from targets, even attacking hostiles if the user doesn't override such protocols. The only problem with this is that they never bothered to let the armor know when the person inside was dead.

All of the armor that contains dead bodies just keeps walking. With the starships they were meant to come back to long since flown away, they just wander forever, looking for rest and safety that does not exist for them anymore. And because of their automatic defense, if anyone tries to remove the bodies they'll consider it a hostile attempt to disarm, and attack. The governments and corporations involved decided that it wasn't of any use to try.

So the armor walks. Some in perfect condition, others with massive holes, or missing body parts, marking their deaths. And they wander. Locals know not to go anywhere near them. They're about as hostile a threat as local raiders or wildlife, and far less easy to reason with. But you can avoid them. And if you don't go close you'll just see them, walking to nowhere. Useally you'll just catch a glimpse, something moving, not quite human but human shaped, in the distance. Occasionally you'll even see a sign of the body inside, parts of the old armor fallen off, to reveal ancient bones.

There is a place where the dead still walk.

[31-daysofhorror]

‧₊˚ 🌒 ✩ dark/moody prompts

¹⁾ rusted barbed wire 

²⁾ a closed fist 

³⁾ blood swirling down a shower drain

⁴⁾ an open grave 

⁵⁾ a blank envelope left in a mailbox 

⁶⁾ false negative 

⁷⁾ bound ankles 

⁸⁾ a sniper’s crosshairs 

⁹⁾ a black eye  

¹⁰⁾ boot prints in the dirt outside a bedroom window 

¹¹⁾ a chair jammed under a doorhandle 

¹²⁾ a jail cell 

¹³⁾ no caller id 

¹⁴⁾ the sound of glass breaking in the middle of the night 

¹⁵⁾ bloodied knuckles 

¹⁶⁾ proof of life 

¹⁷⁾ banging coming from the inside of a car boot 

¹⁸⁾ a makeshift tourniquet 

¹⁹⁾ a split lip 

²⁰⁾ slashed tires 

²¹⁾ a broken lock 

²²⁾ a hand clamped tightly over a mouth 

²³⁾ the sting of whiskey at the back of your throat

²⁴⁾ incessantly trembling hands 

²⁵⁾ cold mortuary slabs