Write the words said aloud by the teacher.
Answers
Explanation:
Lunchclub is now virtual and finally open to users in New Delhi! Network from home and make relevant connections locally and glob
I was told to avoid “said” in school because it was boring. My teacher said it lacked imagination and I had to use more creative words because “said” showed a lack of originality.
So nobody said anything in the fiction I wrote coming straight out of school. All my characters chortled or seethed or splurted or howled or yelled or bellowed.
In my twenties I read a book written by two respected editors which was dedicated entirely to mistakes writers make. One of the chapters was about “propping up bad dialogue.” They made the case that using words other than said is telling the reader, not showing them, which was to be avoided at all costs. The dialogue itself should make a character’s feelings clear and if it didn’t then a good writer shows a character’s state of mind by telling us what they’re doing at the time. Writing words other than said were just telling the reader what the character was feeling, not showing them. They made it clear that readers didn’t get bored of “said” it was almost like punctuation and as long as it wasn’t used for every line of dialogue, it was better than looking for an alternative.
I cursed my teacher and adopted the word said. And I honestly think my writing improved. I had to think more about my dialogue and make things clearer in what was being said. My writing was better as a result.
I don’t think my teacher was a bad teacher. She was a great teacher as it happens. But she wasn’t training novelists. She was trying to encourage a room full of students to use their imagination. Many of them had no interest in writing and never produced any creative writing outside their schoolwork and she was attempting to make them be more creative in what they were doing. It was a valid thing to say at the time but I wish at the end of the year she’d said “by the way, if any of you are serious about writing then ignore the whole said thing, said is fine”