How many different ways

Hi all

Lets make this in to a game. A very helpful one at that

How many different ways can you write a response to someone talking? What i mean is, instead of always wrting Bill said, Ben said, Bill said etc. What other sayings can be used. I will list a few if you can add to it to help

Bill replied
Ben Answered
Bill said
Ben responded

Any of these can be used round the other way to but i need more so not to sound like im being to repetitive.

Thanks

 

Haaaaving said that... there's nothing wrong with being repetitive with attributions.

There's a strong argument that it's good style, as it makes the dialogue itself dominate, and the author becomes invisible.

The Stratemeyer syndicates (F W Dixon for Hardy Boys and Carolyn Keene for Nancy Drew are examples) did a full refresh on their texts in the 1980s to scrap the attributions. My copies predated that, and when I was a kid in the 1970s, it was a fun game to go through and see how the originals effed up the story flow.

"Do you want to take her to the dance?" Frank interrogated.

"No! No, I don't find her attractive at all," Joe ejaculated.

 

1) I'd use said, as a rule, instead of throwing in other tags.
2) If you insist on using other tags...snapped, rebuked, temporized, grumbed...I don't know. Depends on how the person is responding.

 

Are you just asking for any tags? If so, here...
Sam retorted.
Mary countered.
Todd exclaimed.
Liz asked.
Bob hissed.
Jill stuttered.
Kelly seethed.
Penny objected.
Liam uttered.
Kim muttered.
Drew snorted.
Katie giggled.

 

Action tags.

 

If you need a tag, use said. Once in a while, asked or whispered and a couple of others are OK. But in general, the solution to a peppering of “said” is not synonyms, but avoiding tags with beats and other strategies.

 

My understanding of dialogue is to Use descriptive tags as minimal as possible if at all. If dialogue is true it doesn’t need them. They interrupt the flow of the dialogue and distract from the dialogue . Also look at famous writers like Faulkner and McCarthy the have no problem repeating “he said”

 

I think what we need to really drive you over the edge is some adverbs along with the dialogue attribution.

But on a serious note, there's nothing wrong with "said", or even leaving out dialogue tags all together if it's a back and forth conversation.

 

· adenoidal (adj): if someone’s voice is adenoidal, some of the sound seems to come through their nose

· appealing (adj): an appealing look/voice shows that you want help, approval, or agreement

· breathy (adj): with loud breathing noises

· brittle (adj): if you speak in a brittle voice, you sound as if you are about to cry

· croaky (adj): if someone’s voice sounds croaky, they speak in a low, rough voice that sounds as if they have a sore throat

· dead (adj): if someone’s eyes or voice are dead, they feel or show no emotion

· disembodied (adj): a disembodied voice comes from someone who you cannot see

· flat (adj): spoken in a voice that does not go up and down; this word is often used for describing the speech of people from a particular region

· fruity (adj): a fruity voice or laugh is deep and strong in a pleasant way

· grating (adj): a grating voice, laugh, or sound is unpleasant and annoying

· gravelly (adj): a gravelly voice sounds low and rough

· gruff (adj): this voice has a rough, low sound

· guttural (adj): a guttural sound is deep and made at the back of your throat

· high-pitched (adj): true to its name, a high-pitched voice or sound is very high

· hoarse (adj): someone who is hoarse, or has a hoarse voice, speaks in a low, rough voice, usually because their throat is sore

· honeyed (adj): honeyed words or a honeyed voice sound very nice, but you cannot trust the person who is speaking

· husky (adj): a husky voice is deep and sounds hoarse (as if you have a sore throat), often in an attractive way

· low (adj): a low voice is quiet and difficult to hear; also used for describing a deep voice that has a long wavelength

· matter-of-fact (adj): usually used if the person speaking knows what they are talking about (or absolutely think they know what they are talking about)

· modulated (adj): a modulated voice is controlled and pleasant to listen to

· monotonous (adj): this kind of voice is boring and unpleasant due to the fact that it does not change in loudness or become higher/lower

· nasal (adj): someone with a nasal voice sounds as if they are speaking through their nose

· orotund (adj): an orotund voice is loud and clear

· penetrating (adj): a penetrating voice is so high or loud that it makes you slightly uncomfortable

· plummy (adj): a plummy voice or way of speaking is considered to be typical of an English person of a high social class; this word shows that you dislike people who speak like this

· quietly (adj): in a soft, quiet voice

· raucous (adj): a raucous voice or noise is loud and sounds rough

· ringing (adj): a ringing voice is very loud and clear

· rough (adj): a rough voice is not soft and is unpleasant to listen to

· shrill (adj): a shrill voice is very loud, high, and unpleasant

· silvery (adj): this voice is clear, light, and pleasant

· singsong (adj): if you speak in a singsong voice, your voice rises and falls in a musical way

· small (adj): a small voice is quiet

· smoky (adj): a smoky voice is sexually attractive in a slightly mysterious way

· softly spoken (adj): someone who is softly spoken has a quiet, gentle voice

· soft-spoken (adj): speaking or said in a quiet, gentle voice

· sotto voce (adj, adv): in a very quiet voice

· stentorian (adj): a stentorian voice sounds very loud and severe

· strangled (adj): a strangled sound is one that someone stops before they finish making it

· strident (adj): this voice is loud and unpleasant

· taut (adj): used about something such as a voice that shows someone is nervous or angry

· thick (adj): if your voice is thick with an emotion, it sounds less clear than usual because of the emotion

· thickly (adv): with a low voice that comes mostly from your throat

· thin (adj): a thin voice or sound is high and unpleasant to listen to

· throaty (adj): a throaty sound is low and seems to come from deep in your throat

· tight (adj): shows that you are nervous or annoyed

· toneless (adj): does not express any emotion

· tremulous (adj): if your voice is tremulous, it is not steady; for example, because you are afraid or excited

· wheezy (adj): a wheezy noise sounds as if it is made by someone who has difficulty breathing

· wobbly (adj): if your voice is wobbly, it goes up and down, usually because you are frightened, not confident, or are going to cry

· booming (adj): very loud and attention-getting

· quavering (adv): if your voice quavers, it is not steady because you are feeling nervous or afraid

· a voice like a foghorn: very loud voice

· in an undertone: using a quiet voice so that someone cannot hear you

· someone’s dulcet tones: the sound of someone’s voice as they speak

 

I'll kill you delicately. I'm sure it's how you'd prefer to go out.

 

Here's a derail to bring some sanity back to this thread.

I got written up at work for having this picture as my PC background.

Spoiler: Picture

EDIT: They said it was political, but I don't see it. It is an objectively funny picture.

 

Clearly.

 

The popular term for these things is "Tom Swifties." Here's a Wikipedia thing on them, with examples.

 

I had the mental image of you being a vampire or some kind of serial killer supervillain...