He Said, She Said, They Said***** Finding Alternate Words for Said

Be careful to not overuse words during writing. Goodness, a pet peeve of mine is the word said used too much!

"I hate that," Ralph said.

"Just try it," Brenda said.

"No, I told you I hate it," Ralph said.

"I give up," Brenda said.

"Don't give up on him," Josh said.

Do you see what I'm talking about? It sounds like they are ROBOTS! What about words like shouted, exclaimed, cried etc.

Nothing will dull a reader faster than overusing a word, but especially said during dialogue.

Should you ever use said? Of course, sometimes, darnnit, people just say something. Just please don't publish a book that looks like the above example!

So what have I done for you today? I've provided a list of some words that you could use in place of the word "said"

• Announced
• Argued
• Asked 
• Barked
• Began
• Bragged
• Corrected
• Explained
• Groaned
• Hinted
• Mumbled
• Noted
• Ordered
• Pleaded
• Proposed
• Screamed
• Sighed
• Sneered
• Teased
• Wailed
• Wondered
• Stuttered
• Whispered
• Exclaimed
• Boasted
• Sneered
• Laughed
• Chuckled

Now that is a good start right? Comment below if you can think of any fun descriptive words for "said". This will be fun! How long can the list get?