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Position:Home>Books & Authors> Ways to improve writing skills?Question: Ways to improve writing skills!? It's only one problem that really pisses me off, Like for example
"Hey!" My best friend, Bella, Said!. "Hey!" I said back!. "How have you been!?" She asked!. "Good!." I replied!. It sounds so fake!. Basically what I'm asking is how else can I say someone is talking!? If that makes sense !.Or what can I replace with "said" and "replied" and "asked" Thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: What the others said, but also: one thing creative people ignore about the writing process is the technical side!. Learn the technical side by analyzing EVERYTHING you read!. Pay attention to form and structure and you will notice that pretty much everything that's been published (and taken seriously) has several things in common!. And don't look for words to replace said and replied and asked!. In fact, forget replied and, in most cases, forget asked!. Said is all you need!. Elmore Leonard never uses anything other than said to carry dialog and he uses it sparingly!. Flesh your characters out and you won't have to indicate who is who as often!.Www@QuestionHome@Com It's not that it sounds fake, it's that it sounds boring!. Using the word said a lot is not usually a problem in stories!. It may look a little repetitive but most readers don't even notice it!. The reason why it sounds boring is because it's a boring part of the conversation!. Save the dialogue for when there is something important to say!. ex!. I met up with my best friend, Bella, in the hallway and we quickly exchanged pleasantries!. Www@QuestionHome@Com How about: "Hey!" my best friend, Bella, shouted!. "Hey!" I yelled back!. "How've you been!?" she asked heartily!. "Pretty good," I answered shakily, trying to hide my devastation at being stood up by Franko last night!. Imagining your characters and putting them into a context helps to flesh them out!. Sometimes said and replied carries the day, depending on the surrounding context that you've created for your characters!. Other times, using a strong verb such as shouted or yelled may help!. Or you can use softer verbs like murmur (she murmurred)!. Use a thesaurus to help you with alternative word choices!. Every good writer does!. Www@QuestionHome@Com I agree with the person above me who said only use dialogue when they're saying something important!. If you MUST put that in your story, change it to include some action to denote which character is speaking!. ~~~~~ "Hey!" My best friend, Bella, greeted me as she caught up!. I smiled and returned her greeting!. We haven't seen each other in the past two weeks since she was on a trip to Europe!. "How have you been!? I've missed you," she asked!. "Good!." I kept walking, trying to ignore the feeling of jealousy that was threatening to emerge at the sight of her new clothes, no doubt purchased on one of her frequent jaunts to Paris!. ~~~~~ Now the focus is not on the dialogue itself but on the feelings of the character!.Www@QuestionHome@Com You don't always have to put "he said" or "she said" or "I said" or any of that stuff!. If you just start with one "___ said", you can go through most of the conversation without that sort of stuff!. For example: "Hey!" my best friend, Bella, said!. "Hey, Bella!" "How have you been!?" "Good!."Www@QuestionHome@Com |