The Word Cloud

Guero D: "There is no adverb that cannot be conveyed without a situational description." Don't know what you mean by this. Did you mean, "that cannot be conveyed WITH a situational description"? But whether an extra phrase, or more probably, a ...

Very insightful! Thanks for posting =)

Having just completed yet another creative writing course with the Open University, it's a relief to get back into the real world, where you do not have to stick so literally to 'the written rule'. Most of the good books I've read break a rule here ...

There is no adverb that cannot be conveyed without a situational description. And if you need to keep reminding your reader who said what, you're just not engaging them. That is all.

What about 'gasped' - really difficult to convey that in dialogue.

I've always liked muttered. :) I use that one in rp a lot. hehe.

‘Hissed’ – brilliant! I’d forgotten that word even existed but I love it. Thanks :)

I'd agree with you Cap/Ton - one should avoid the horrors of 'What do you mean?' he questioned, 'You know what I mean' she answered - but indeed, how different is the classic 'I love you' when either followed by 'he whispered' or 'he roared' - and ...

Yep, never say ‘never’ is perhaps the best way to read the ‘rules’...I always avoid speech tags if I can, but Leonard’s example ticks me off because he relies on the absurd verb ‘asseverated’ as the money shot to hammer home his point. ...

I think the trick is never to say, 'Never.' Like 'Never use a verb other than 'said' to carry dialogue. That's just silly; you can't used 'asked' if it's a question? BUT - it is good guidance: normally stick to 'said' rather than 'exclaimed', ...

I laughed at 'don't search Amazon for books that haven't been written yet' - I've done that!

These are just personal preferences, so writers shouldn't think of them as rules. Readers aren't robots, after all. I'd also support Scheherazade's plea to 'Save the Adverb' in order to spare readers from the relentless onslaught of cold, ...

Good article thanks for posting :)

An interesting read, during which one is constantly comparing ones own work of course. I agree with many of them, the key being 'write' otherwise you are not really a writer, write no matter what and whenever and wherever you can. I would also agree ...

Glad you both enjoyed it. Lots of top advice, I agree. My favourite: ‘Only bad writers think that their work is really good.’ So so true. I loathe: ‘Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs ...