Timeline for Writing "hahaha" versus describing the laugh
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
12 events
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| May 20, 2019 at 12:28 | comment | added | rydwolf | @Kai True, I guess that does make sense. | |
| May 20, 2019 at 10:52 | comment | added | Lie Ryan |
If you're reporting for news, boring is good, as you generally want to focus on what people said rather than how they said it, to want to report factually, so keep it simple unless otherwise necessary. If you're writing fiction, you'd want to take advantage of richer tags because those tags carries different subtleties to the story and how the characters are perceived in the dialogue. "Sorry for the bruise", snarked Jack, "Sorry for the bruise", sobbed Jack, "Sorry for the bruise", sighed Jack all have the exact same wording in the dialog, but they characterize Jack very differently.
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| May 20, 2019 at 9:20 | comment | added | Kai | @RedwolfPrograms (cont.) So if the character has just said something in a non-remarkable way, just say 'said' - leaving the focus on what was said rather than how it was said ("That's interesting... here, look, the body's still warm," said Cotson) . If, however, how it was said should be taken note of ("Preposterous!" spluttered the general), then highlight it. | |
| May 20, 2019 at 9:11 | comment | added | user | I know what you mean, but to me, my writings are "texts". A SMS message is something else. (As an aside, e-mail can be quite formal as well. That depends entirely on the context of the communications. If I'm in the process of applying for a job, you can bet those e-mails are going to look very different from one that's basically just a reminder to a friend to buy a food item for when they're coming over.) | |
| May 20, 2019 at 9:11 | comment | added | Kai | @RedwolfPrograms There's a difference in aims between middle school writing class and professional writing. Your teacher wants you to flex your vocab and find interesting ways to say something as a teaching exercise, rather than taking the 'easy' way out (for a middle-school student) and just using 'said' every sentence. Professionally, though, it's all about deciding where you want to place emphasis. What about this sentence should the reader be paying particular attention to? What's special about the event? Highlight those things with "interesting" words to contrast the "mundane" ones. | |
| May 20, 2019 at 8:17 | comment | added | Graham | Don't use it in your writing. Unless you're Terry Pratchett and you're making a point about maniacal laughter. Ahahahah!!!! Ahahahahahahah!!!!! | |
| May 20, 2019 at 6:50 | comment | added | A. Kvåle | @RedwolfPrograms I have learned the same thing, that there should be a variation in what speech verbs one uses afterwards. I've also heard that using speech tags should be avoided as in a whole. | |
| May 20, 2019 at 0:57 | comment | added | Cyn | @RedwolfPrograms Some people do agree with her, but they're in the minority. The professional sources are against it. | |
| May 20, 2019 at 0:37 | comment | added | rydwolf | It was from a middle school English teacher. Her arguments was the opposite, that boring is bad and we needed lots of variety. I see where both arguments come from. | |
| May 20, 2019 at 0:27 | comment | added | Cyn | @RedwolfPrograms Do you remember where you've heard that? I've never seen that advice from professionals or writing teachers. The idea is that boring is good; your brain just slides right by it. The other words stand out and distract you from the dialogue. | |
| May 19, 2019 at 23:39 | comment | added | rydwolf | "Stylistically, many people recommend against using tags that aren't your basic 'said' or 'asked' but you can get away with a few." Really? I've always heard the opposite, that "'said' is too boring, use other words whenever possible, like exclaimed, announced, complained, shouted, explained, etc." | |
| May 19, 2019 at 18:10 | history | answered | Cyn | CC BY-SA 4.0 |