Where has this been all my life!?
*SCREAMS IN ABJECT FURY*
SAID IS NOT DEAD. SAID IS NOT DEAD. SAID IS NOT FUCKING DEAD.
THESE WORDS ARE ALL VERY LOVELY AND USEFUL BUT ONLY IN SMALL DOSES!!!!
LIKE HOW MANY TIMES IN A STORY CAN YOU SAY THEY “STATED” OR “REMARKED” SOMETHING BEFORE THE STORY BECOMES BORING AND INCOMPREHENSIBLE?!?!?! GOOD GODS Y’ALL!
SAID IS A LOVELY ADORABLE LITTLE WORD THAT DOESN’T TAKE UP MUCH SPACE. IT CAN BE USED OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND IT WON’T TURN YOUR STORY INTO AN AWFUL PEICE OF PURPLE PROSE (BUT FUCK IF PURPLE PROSE IS WHAT YOU’RE AIMING FOR HAVE AT IT MY FRIEND) THAT MAKES LITERALLY ZERO SENSE TO THE READERS.
EXAMPLE: ‘“Oh Lizzy,” Clare said tiredly. “We don’t always get what we want.”’
I BET YOU BARELY NOTICED THE WORD SAID. YOU PROBABLY FOCUSED ON THE WORD TIREDLY BECAUSE THAT WAS HOW SHE SAID IT.
AS OPPOSED TO: ‘“Oh Lizzy,” Clare stated tiredly. “We don’t always get what we want.”’
DO YOU SEE HOW STILTED THAT IS???? IT’S AWKWARD AND DOESN’T FLOW RIGHT. NOW IMAGINE IF THE CONVERSATION WENT LIKE THIS:
‘“Oh Lizzy,” Clare stated tiredly. “We don’t always get what we want.”
“It’s just… It’s just so hard to let go.” Lizzy sobbed.’
DO YOU GET WHAT I’M SAYING? PUTTING THE WORD ‘SAID’ IN CLARE’S LINE ALLOWS YOU TO PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON LIZZY’S DISAPPOINTMENT AND EMOTIONAL TURMOIL. IMAGINE IF THE ENTIRE STORY INVOLVING LIZZY AND CLARE USED EVERY WORD BUT SAID. IT’D GET HARD TO READ, WOULDN’T IT???
IN CONCLUSION, TL;DR, ECT. ECT.: THE WORD SAID IS A GOOD WORD THAT LETS THE WRITING FLOW AND ALLOWS YOU TO PUT MORE EMPHASIS ON ANOTHER CHARACTER’S LINES WITHOUT CLUTTERING UP THE STORY. SAID IS NOT DEAD. PLEASE USE THE WORD SAID, DARLINGS. SAID LIKES TO BE USED, AND IT ISN’T PICKY ON HOW YOU USE IT.
YES THESE WORDS IN THE PICTURE ABOVE NEED TO BE PUT TO USE, BUT ONLY SPARINGLY. OTHERWISE YOU END UP WITH A STUTTERED MESS OF A MANUSCRIPT AND IF YOU WANT TO WRITE SUCCESSFUL STORIES YOU’RE GOING TO NEED TO UTILIZE A WORD THAT’S SHORT AND SWEET AND TO THE POINT. AKA THE WORD SAID.
THIS HAS BEEN A PSA
This person isn’t joking. My friend wrote a book and I asked about the publishing process and she said that the editors made her change a lot of the tags to just “said” because all the “requested” and “offered” and “smirked”s were distracting. My friend said her editor told her that most people don’t even read/notice the word said and they get stuck and stumble over words like “proposed” and “stated” and other such tags. So in conclusion, a real author told me all of this which means said is not dead and never will be.