#writing a

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Said

When you write a lot of dialogue, it’s easy to find yourself repeating certain verbs to describe the act of speaking. The most common of these verbs, or dialogue tags, is “said,” and many authors would like nothing more than a reliable way to avoid repeating it over and over again.

How to Avoid Overusing "Said"

The key to avoiding “said” in your dialogue tags is tailoring your word choice around the specific context of your story.

Here is a list of dialogue tags that exploit the potential of English vocabulary and help ensure you won’t have to overuse “said.”

If used properly, these dialogue tags are a tool to help you choose the right word for the most specific of dialogue descriptions.

If your speaker is happy or excited, try:

Laughed

Exclaimed

Yelled

Gushed

Babbled

Gulped

Entreated

Bubbled

Chortled

Chimed

If your speaker is subdued, try:

Sighed

Murmured

Mumbled

Whispered

Assented

Demurred

Disclaimed

Insinuated

Agreed

Relented

If your speaker likes hearing themselves talk, try:

Rambled

Recounted

Declared

Babbled

Pontificated

Held forth

Related

Continued

Emphasized

Remembered

Concluded

Recalled

Resumed

Noted

Rasped

If your speaker is displaying kindness, try:

Consoled

Soothed

Offered

Proposed

Apologized

Reassured

Assented

If your speaker shows signs of being upset, try:

Whined

Cried

Yelled

Shouted

Glowered

Spat

Bemoaned

Pouted

Sobbed

Blubbered

Lamented

Jabbed

Sneered

Hissed

Besmirched

If your speaker is trying to influence someone else’s behavior, try:

Rebuked

Scolded

Cajoled

Demanded

Threatened

Declared

Ordered

Commanded

Boomed

Maintained

Insisted

By using these speech tags, along with other tools like punctuation (exclamation marks, question marks, etc.) and proper prepositions, you can sculpt your story writing to more accurately reflect your character’s actions and the surrounding context.

Source ⚜ More: Notes ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ Said ⚜ Overused Words

[windyboi101]

It’s so challenging to write a threatening OC without stepping into ‘Coldsteel the Hedgehog’ territory.

Idk if that comparison makes any sense but it does to me

[ross-hollander]

I assure you: somebody, somewhere, is on the exact same wavelength as you are.

[tenderwatches]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

[elexuscal]

"what did students do before chatgpt?" well one time i forgot i had a history essay due at my 10am class the morning of so over the course of my 30 minute bus ride to school i awkwardly used by backpack as a desk, sped wrote the essay, and got an A on it.

six months later i re-read the essay prior to the final exam, went 'ohhhh yeah i remember this', got a question on that topic, and aced it.

point being that actually doing the work is how you learn the material and internalize it. ChatGPT can give you a short cut but it won't build you the the muscles.

[faaun]

WHEN ON PERIOD:

do not crash out

your feelings are NOT valid

do not send that text

don't kill yourself. lock in

do not act on negative emotions until at least 2 days have elapsed

[melodicwriter]

[captainkingsley]

baby dragons whose scales are much more shiny and iridescent in order to hide in their parents' hoards

[the-real-nikki19]

a writing competition i was going to participate in again this year has announced that they now allow AI generated content to be submitted

their reasoning being that "we couldn't ban it even if we wanted to, every writer already uses it anyway"

"Every writer"?

come on

[mouthtapedguy]

lions are very mean and like jellyfish

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Some Poetry Writing Tips

Rules for Writing Good Poetry

There are no officially sanctioned rules of poetry.

However, as with all creative writing, having some degree of structure can help you reign in your ideas and work productively.

Some guidelines for those looking to take their poetry writing to the next level.

Or, if you literally haven’t written a single poem since high school, you can think of this as a beginner's guide on the basics and have you writing poetry in no time:

Read a lot of poetry. If you want to write poetry, start by reading poetry. You can do this in a casual way by letting the words of your favorite poems wash over you without necessarily digging for deeper meaning. Or you can delve into analysis. Dissect an allegory in a Robert Frost verse. Ponder the underlying meaning of an Edward Hirsch poem. Retrieving the symbolism in Emily Dickinson’s work. Do a line-by-line analysis of a William Shakespeare sonnet. Simply let the individual words of a Walt Whitman elegy flow with emotion.

Listen to live poetry recitations. The experience of consuming poetry does not have to be an academic exercise in cataloging poetic devices like alliteration and metonymy. It can be musical—such as when you attend a poetry slam for the first time and hear the snappy consonants of a poem out loud. Many bookstores and coffeehouses have poetry readings, and these can be both fun and instructive for aspiring poets. By listening to the sounds of good poetry, you discover the beauty of its construction—the mix of stressed syllables and unstressed syllables, alliteration and assonance, a well placed internal rhyme, clever line breaks, and more. You’ll never think of the artform the same way once you hear good poems read aloud. (And if you ever get the chance to hear your own poem read aloud by someone else, seize the opportunity.)

Start small. A short poem like a haiku or a simple rhyming poem might be more attainable than diving into a narrative epic. A simple rhyming poem can be a non-intimidating entryway to poetry writing. Don’t mistake quantity for quality; a pristine seven-line free verse poem is more impressive than a sloppy, rambling epic of blank verse iambic pentameter, even though it probably took far less time to compose.

Don’t obsess over your first line. If you don’t feel you have exactly the right words to open your poem, don’t give up there. Keep writing and come back to the first line when you’re ready. The opening line is just one component of an overall piece of art. Don’t give it more outsized importance than it needs (which is a common mistake among first time poets).

Embrace tools. If a thesaurus or a rhyming dictionary will help you complete a poem, use it. You’d be surprised how many professional writers also make use of these tools. Just be sure you understand the true meaning of the words you insert into your poem. Some synonyms listed in a thesaurus will deviate from the meaning you wish to convey.

Enhance the poetic form with literary devices. Like any form of writing, poetry is enhanced by literary devices. Develop your poetry writing skills by inserting metaphor, allegory, synecdoche, metonymy, imagery, and other literary devices into your poems. This can be relatively easy in an unrhymed form like free verse and more challenging in poetic forms that have strict rules about meter and rhyme scheme.

Try telling a story with your poem. Many of the ideas you might express in a novel, a short story, or an essay can come out in a poem. A narrative poem like “The Waste Land” by T.S. Eliot can be as long as a novella. “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe expresses just as much dread and menace as some horror movies. As with all forms of English language writing, communication is the name of the game in poetry, so if you want to tell short stories in your poems, embrace that instinct.

Express big ideas. A lyric poem like “Banish Air from Air” by Emily Dickinson can express some of the same philosophical and political concepts you might articulate in an essay. Because good poetry is about precision of language, you can express a whole philosophy in very few words if you choose them carefully. Even seemingly light poetic forms like nursery rhymes or a silly rhyming limerick can communicate big, bold ideas. You just have to choose the right words.

Paint with words. When a poet paints with words, they use word choice to figuratively “paint” concrete images in a reader’s mind. In the field of visual art, painting pictures of course refers to the act of representing people, objects, and scenery for viewers to behold with their own eyes. In creative writing, painting pictures also refers to producing a vivid picture of people, objects, and scenes, but the artist’s medium is the written word.

Familiarize yourself with myriad forms of poetry. Each different form of poetry has its own requirements—rhyme scheme, number of lines, meter, subject matter, and more—that make them unique from other types of poems. Think of these structures as the poetic equivalent of the grammar rules that govern prose writing. Whether you’re writing a villanelle (a nineteen-line poem consisting of five tercets and a quatrain, with a highly specified internal rhyme scheme) or free verse poetry (which has no rules regarding length, meter, or rhyme scheme), it’s important to thrive within the boundaries of the type of poetry you’ve chosen. Even if you eventually compose all your work as one particular type of poem, versatility is still a valuable skill.

Connect with other poets. Poets connect with one another via poetry readings and perhaps poetry writing classes. Poets in an artistic community often read each other’s work, recite their own poems aloud, and provide feedback on first drafts. Good poetry can take many forms, and through a community, you may encounter different forms that vary from the type of poem you typically write—but are just as artistically inspiring. Seek out a poetry group where you can hear different types of poetry, discuss the artform, jot down new ideas, and learn from the work of your peers. A supportive community can help you brainstorm ideas, influence your state of mind as an artist, and share poetry exercises that may have helped other members of the group produce great poetry.

Source ⚜ More: Notes ⚜ References for Poets ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[frodothefair]

[sourdough-seal]

hyperfixation please stay with me long enough to complete the project. hyperfixation do not fade. hyperfixation finish what you started for the love of god

[drumlincountry]

If your life is horrible and you need a new source of meaning and direction.... Do NOT find religion. Learn to identify plants.

[theaftersundown]

the holy grail types of fanfic