#word choice

[love-me-a-good-prompt]

50 WORDS TO USE INSTEAD OF “SAID”

Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “said” in your writing? Try using these words/phrases instead:

stated

commented

declared

spoke

responded

voiced

noted

uttered

iterated

explained

remarked

acknowledged

mentioned

announced

shouted

expressed

articulated

exclaimed

proclaimed

whispered

babbled

observed

deadpanned

joked

hinted

informed

coaxed

offered

cried

affirmed

vocalized

laughed

ordered

suggested

admitted

verbalized

indicated

confirmed

apologized

muttered

proposed

chatted

lied

rambled

talked

pointed out

blurted out

chimed in

brought up

wondered aloud

(NOTE: Keep in mind that all of these words have slightly different meanings and are associated with different emotions/scenarios.)

[writingwithfolklore]

Keep Your MCs Close

I typically write in third person limited, which intentionally places a distance between reader and character while allowing a look into the mind of whichever character we’re with. While this distance is part of the perspective, we still want to hold our protagonists close, and we do that through word choice.

Certain words and phrases can distance the reader from the character, which limits their relatability and the emotion that comes through in a scene. Consider these two examples:

She felt her eyes widen as she saw the monster turn the corner. Vs. Her eyes widened as the monster turned the corner.

Which puts you more into the body of the character and feels more in the moment?

The difference is using words such as felt, saw, heard. When you do an action, you don’t feel yourself do it—you just do it. While we’re technically on the outside of this character, we still want to be close to her experiences. As another example:

She felt sick as she heard the vase shatter. Vs. Her stomach turned, a tightness constricting around her ribs as the vase wobbled and tipped off the counter.

Now we’re in the emotion, we’re in this horrible moment with this character. Of course, that’s not to say there should be zero mentions of saw/heard/felt in your story. As with all writing advice, there’s a time and a place for everything. If the word works really well in the scene/sentence, or you’re intentionally placing distance between the character and reader, go right on ahead!

When my characters are kind of feeling out of it and woozy or drunk, they do feel themselves walking down the hallway, because being drunk sort of feels like being outside of your own head. Intention, as always, is key!

Good luck!

[agwitow]

Describing Voices

Inspired by this old post

Words (and definitions) as text below cut.

Words to Describe a Voice

Adenoidal: pinched and nasal in tone

Alto: a low female voice, or a high male voice

Appealing: evoking interest, desire, or curiosity; attractive

Austere: severe, uncompromising, or strict; sober, or serious

Baritone: an intermediate male voice, between tenor and bass

Booming: a deep, resonant sound; prolonged or echoing

Breathy: audible, or excessive, emission of breath

Coarse: harsh, or grating; vulgar, obscene, or crude

Croaky: low-pitched and hoarse; croaking

Deep: low in pitch; sonorous tone

Ethereal: light, airy, or tenuous; extremely delicate or refined

Falsetto: an unnaturally, or artificially, high-pitched voice

Frail: delicate, weak, or fragile

Grating: irritating, unpleasant, harsh, discordant, or rasping

Gravelly: harsh and grating

Guttural: harsh, or throaty; sounds formed in back of mouth

High-Pitched: high in volume and/or tone

Hoarse: a low, harsh sound; husky; weak intensity and excessive breathiness

Honeyed: pleasantly soft; dulcet, or mellifluous; flattering, or ingratiating

Husky: a somewhat hoarse, semi-whispered vocal tone

Hypnotic: inducing, or tending to induce, sleep; soporific

Lilting: rhythmic; light and tripping

Lofty: elevated; arrogant or condescending

Low: quiet or deep

Luscious: sweet to excess; highly pleasing; satisfying; cloying

Lyrical: enthusiastic; effusive; melodious; musical

Majestic: lofty, imposing, stately, or grand

Mellow: mild and pleasant; relaxed; soft and rich

Melodic: sweet-sounding; musical

Mesmerizing: completely engrossing, captivating, or fascinating

Musical: resembling music; melodious; harmonious

Nasal: sounds, either partly or entirely, form the noise

Orotund: strong, full, rich, or clear; pompous or bombastic

Plaintive: sorrowful; melancholic; mournful

Plummy: rich, or mellowly, resonant

Raspy: harsh, grating, rasping, or irritating

Resonant: deep and full of resonance; reverberating

Rich: full, strong, deep, or vivid

Ringing: clear, resonant; reminiscent of bells

Scratchy: uneven, irritating, or grating

Shrill: high-pitched and piercing

Silvery: having a clear, ringing sound

Small: humble, weak, soft, or of little strength or force

Smoky: hazy, hoarse, husky, or raspy

Soft-Spoken: soft, gentle, or mild; persuasive

Soporific: causing, or tending to cause, sleep

Squeaky: sharp, shrill, high-pitched

Strong: robust; powerful; intense in quality

Sweet: pleasing to the ear; delicate, or agreeable

Tenor: an intermediate male voice between bass and alto

Thick: husky, or hoarse; not distinctly articulated

Thin: lacking fullness or volume; weak, or shrill

Throaty: guttural, husky, or hoarse

Tight: drawn, tense, or taut

Weak: lacking in force; soft, deficient, or quiet

Wheezy: with a whistling sound, and difficulty breathing

Words to Describe Tone of Voice

Affected: false, or feigned; pretending to possess

Arrogant: overbearing, assuming, insolently proud

Authoritative: positive, peremptory, or dictatorial

Bloodcurdling: arousing terror; horrifying

Boisterous: rough and noisy, rowdy, unrestrained; noisily jolly

Breaking: changing, or collapsing, suddenly

Bright: animated, lively, cheerful, clever, or witty

Brittle: fragile, frail, lacking warmth; having a sharp, tense quality

Cacophonous: having a harsh, or discordant sound

Caterwauling: long and wailing; a howl, or screech

Cheery: in good spirits; cheerful, or happy

Delicate: soft, or faint; subtle; tactful, or cautious

Dry: plain, unadorned, indifferent, or matter-of-fact

Dulcet: pleasant to the ear; melodious

Ear-Splitting: extremely harsh and irritating; loud

Enthusiastic: lively, ardent, eager, or passionate

Faint: soft, weak, feeble, or slight; lacking clearness or volume

Feeble: lacking in force, strength, volume, and distinctness

Flat: without modification or variation; without vitality

Forceful: powerful, vigorous, or effective

Frank: direct and unreserved; straightforward; sincere

Gruff: low and harsh; hoarse; rough, brusque, or surly

Hesitant: wavering, irresolute, timid, or unpersuasive

Insincere: lacking sincerity; sarcastic; hypocritical

Irreverent: lacking respect; flippant

Monotone: single tone, without harmony or variation

Patronizing: offensive and condescending

Pedantic: overly concerned with details and rules

Petulant: impatient irritation; annoyed

Piercing: loud, or shrill; sarcastic, or caustic

Pompous: ostentatious display of self-importance

Pontificating: to speak in a pompous or dogmatic manner

Pretentious: making an exaggerated outward show; ostentatious

Raised: increased in volume

Raucous: harsh, strident, or grating; rowdy, or disorderly

Respectful: showing deference; politeness

Rough: harsh to the ear; grating, or jarring

Sarcastic: using harsh or bitter derision or irony

Screeching: harshly shrill

Serious: grave, somber, earnest, or sincere

Singsong: rhythmically monotonous cadence or tone

Smug: contentedly confident in superiority or correctness

Snarky: testy or irritable; having a rudely critical tone

Snobby: condescending, patronizing; snobbish

Soft: low, or subdued; gentle and melodious

Sotto Voce: in a low, soft voice, so as not to be overheard

Stilted: stiffly dignified or formal; pompous

Strangled: choking, or stifled; gradually cut off

Sullen: gloomy, irritated, morose, or malignant

Trembling: shaking, as from fear, excitement, or weakness

Unapologetic: bold, and showing no regret

Upbeat: optimistic, happy, or cheerful

Warbling: with trills, quavers, or melodic embellishments

Wavering: unsteady, shaky, or fluctuating; begin to fail

Whiny: complaining, fretful, or cranky

Whisper: to speak with soft, hushed sounds

[perrettatheinjured]

A phrase that bothers me, as a chronically ill person, is "You must be feeling better."

First of all, this is patronizing. This is a phrase smug adults say to a child who they think is malingering. It is not what you say to your adult friend with an intractable forever-illness.

Second, there is no "better." I'm feeling somewhat bad all the time, and that's ok, but I don't think of this in terms of "better" and "worse." Are you, an able person, thinking of your daily existence as "better" and "worse"? How would you feel if you told someone about a particularly above-average day, and they responded by saying "Oh, so things must be going better"?

I'm not good at walking. I haven't been in remission in two years. If I have a day where I can make my own meals, that doesn't mean I am "better." It means I am having a good day, which is ephemeral, but this is ok. I don't think that tomorrow will be "worse," even I can't do as many things as today. I think tomorrow will be tomorrow.

[shadowatched109]

Alright so sensual attraction is a thing. We all can acknowledge that, look it up on Google, confirm it. Great. Why is horny the only word close enough to describe randomly remembering I'm sensually attracted to my girlfriend? I hate that. "Horny" is wrong, that's not what I'm feeling but also I can't describe it in one word any better. Yeah, I've been thinking about my gf lightly bestowing kisses upon my skin and giving me the good shivers, but not in a "I need her to fuck me rn" kinda way, in a "wow I love feeling physical manifestations of love from my partner, it makes me happy and wow oh wow I love my gf so much" kinda way. I'm asexy horny. Gods I hate the word horny. Someone please give me an alternative word, my soul is screaming

[emilywrites185]

10 Additional Words to Love

Here are ten more words I found to be helpful. May they help or inspire you on your writing adventures!

Abase (Verb)- To lower in esteem, degrade, to humble. To behave in a way that belittles or degrades someone or yourself.

Brazen (Adj)- Bold and without shame. Made of brass.

Chasten (Verb)- To have a restraining or moderating effect on.

Demure (Adj)- Sober or serious in manner. Reserved.

Flair (Noun)- A special or instinctive aptitude or ability for doing something well. Stylish and originality.

Harangue (Noun)- A lengthy and aggressive speech. (Verb)- To lecture someone in an aggressive and critical manner.

Lissome (Adj)- Thin, supple, graceful.

Morass (Noun)- An area of muddy or boggy ground. A complicated or confusion situation.

Opaque (Adj)- Not able to be seen through; not clear or lucid; dense, stupid.

Wily (Adj)- Skilled at gaining an advantage, especially through deceit. Sly, cunning

[talefoundryshow]

There’s always something more to be done… until there isn’t.

[elumish]

Hi, asking because I recently got some feedback on my writing that I'm not sure how to process:

So I read a group a snippet from my manuscript in beta, and one person gave me some light criticism about the narrator. The book is close first person from the POV of a college-aged bookworm, though that scene doesn't really focus on her book reading or education. This person told me that my use of words like "verdant" or "penultimate" didn't fit with her dialogue in the moment. I got a bit defensive and clarified that she is established as well-read, so he let it go. (He also questioned why characters in 1945 were drinking Champagne out of coupes and not flutes, granted.) But that did send me on a bit of an anxiety spiral, so I have to ask... When is fancy language too much?

I genuinely don't know. I use words like "perchance" and "superfluous" and "ergo" in my daily conversations; I'm just naturally wordy. And people have told me as a kid to tone with the language because it makes me sound pretentious. It might just be me being autistic and not understanding conversational mores, but it does make one worry.

How do you tone down fancy language when it comes naturally to you? Or am I just needlessly worrying?

I know that this isn't exactly the question that you're asking, but it seems to me that there are two issues here: is using "fancy" language something that must be toned down in writing and if so how, and did the language the character was using match the context in which they were speaking?

To answer the first one, which seems to be your question, language like that isn't inherently bad if it's the language that the character would use. You are allowed to make specific linguistic choices for your character, and it seems like you're doing that here. But if you feel like you want/need to, I would look at other dialogue and listen to poeple speak. What words are they using in place of words like perchance or ergo? How are they phrasing things instead?

You probably need to do this anyway--unless all of your characters have the same background/education/etc (and honestly even then), they won't all be speaking the same way, so you should be varying your dialogue.

But now for the other part: from your description (and obviously you know better than I do), it seems like the comment isn't necessarily "I don't know if this character would ever use these words" as "there feels like a mismatch between this specific word choice and the broader dialogue in this scene."

And that is absolutely an idea worth looking into. You may ultimately decide that you disagree, but I wouldn't dismiss off-hand the idea that the reader is feeling cognitive dissonance when reading dialogue. That's the sort of thing that will jar a reader out of your story, which you generally want to avoid.

What is it that makes the reader feel like there's a mismatch? Is the dialogue otherwise crude or rough? Is everyone else using very different linguistic patterns? Is the character having an emotional outpouring that may feel academic to the reader because of the longer/more "well-educated" word choice?

These are all points that are valid and worth looking into.

I also just want to say--I wouldn't extrapolate a beta reader getting a historical fact about champagne consumption wrong out to them not having any worthy comments. I totally understand getting defensive about your work (I think ever writer does) but dismissing them out of hand because of a random factual error does you no favors.

[j-a-nuary]

NACIFIC X ATEEZ

𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦🌸

[dear-future-ai]

Dear future AI,

I’m playing a game about word choice. And I just wanna say, “condone” and “excuse” are not synonymous.

“Condone” means you agree with and recommend the action, “excuse” means you will permit the action regardless of your standpoint.

Are they both a form of permission? Sure, yeah okay. Are they the same? No.

[mckitterick]

Really?

is "cooler" really the best term for when the temp goes from -8°F down to -10°F? wouldn't something like "even worse" be more apt?

also, WTF with the high being just a couple dashes? are they saying, "It's just not right to call negative degrees a 'high' temp"?

[writingwithfolklore]

Maintaining a Consistent Tone

                Tone is deceptively difficult to maintain because after we set up all the important worldbuilding stuff at the beginning, it can be easy to forget to reinforce those details that ultimately create the tone of our piece.

                Tone is comprised of:

Voice

Subject matter

Core emotions evoked by characters/world/events/etc.

It’s important to maintain a consistent tone (or an intentionally evolving one) across your entire story as it acts as the background to what’s happening and is part of the hook readers are latching onto at the beginning. Imagine if Wednesday the show dropped the creepy act halfway through and just let the events play out amidst a normal, realistic backdrop. That’s not why we started the show, and so we’d likely not finish it.

                To keep up the tone we establish in the beginning, you’re going to want to single out the key words, details, and moments that did that work for you. Word choices, character moments, introductions to settings, etc.

“creaked”, “whined” or “croaked” all mean the same but create a slightly different feeling--horror, drama, fantasy.

                Do characters use a flashlight or a lantern or their phone light? Are there segments of silent introspection, or funny banter and quips?

Does the forest loom or does it blanket?

                The details and words you pick out here should be maintained across the entire piece. It’s not enough to mention the first time they need a light they pull out a lantern, you have to make sure that detail keeps coming up all the way through the middle and the end too.

                As well, these word choices impact the voice you are using, so sticking to the ‘vocab’ of your world is important in creating that tone (and a better overall flow).

                Any other ways you can think of? Let me know!

[imaginesyphilishappy]

"You're unkind"

i've been trying to come up with better insults, because i overthink everything, and i've realized being more thoughtful about my language can be helpful. i firmly believe that there are people who should be criticized, but how we do it matters.

"that was an ugly thing to say" "that was lame" "that's a big fat lie" "stop being a pussy"

Here are some words i don't like:

dumb, lame, stupid, idiot (it's hard for me to see the difference between this and the R word)

pussy/cunt/dick, douchebag (these feel based in sexism)

Here are some words i'm neutral on:

trash bag, toilet brush, asshole, shit stain... (these are all unappealing things, so you're calling your opponent unappealing)

Here are some ones i like:

ignorant, unkind, bigot...

i would like to think the people i often criticize are people that fall into these categories, people that are just cruel or unthinking. i would never want to hate on someone for being a little slow, or not understanding something, or for being weird or gross, but i do like to hate on people for being unkind.

the reason i steer away from saying "wow this INSERT_POLITICIAN is unkind" is because i want a much better word that really stings, but why is it that "wow this INSERT_POLITICIAN is an asshole" hits harder? i think being unkind is one of the worst things you can be.

[lunacreativeacademy]

Word Choice - Why It's Important & How To Fix It

Word choice is very important when it comes to writing. Using the wrong terminology can take a reader right out of the piece and can diminish the impact of the scene that you’re creating. This can be one of the reasons your readers aren’t falling in love with your work.

Find out more here!

[legiopraesagio]

Going on with "Echoes of Eternity".

ADB of Rogal Dorn: "But he ached to fight. He wanted blood on his gauntlets. He wanted to swing his blade and feel the immediacy of victory, of cutting a foe down, of achieving something tactile in this endless grind. The urge was fierce enough to be a constant temptation, but he refused to give in to selfishness".

Me: Rogal dear, is that a bolt pistol in your pocket or do you just wanna fight so bad?

[getfuckedblr]

it is so painful. to read such a good fic. but the author has a favorite word that they just. wont. stop. using. the entire time my favorite worst enemy professor was in my head saying “pick a new word”. the worst part is it truly is so phenomenally written except for that one thing but that one thing is so fucking grating