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100+ Ways to Say "Interesting"

40K views 357 replies 89 participants last post by  GrandmaBirdie 
#1 · (Edited)
PDF Index of GrandmaBirdie's Lists
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100+ Ways to Say "Interesting"
Many writers find excessive repetition of "interesting" in their WIPs. Explore these alternatives.

200+ Ways to Say "Smart"
Are you aggravated by too many occurrences of "smart" in your writing? Check out these ways to replace it.

Huge List of Literary Journals (1000+)
Publication in literary journals increases your visibility, improves your writing skills, looks good on your CV, and builds readership.

Ways to Replace "Basically" and "Essentially" in Writing
Besides their frequent overuse, "basically" and "essentially" share a common sin: the much-maligned classification as [gasp!] adverbs.

200+ Ways to Say "Surprised"
"Surprised" is a nemesis for many writers. It appears with a surprising frequency in surprisingly many WIPs. No worries: The Surprise EMTs are en route.

Ways to Create Catchy Character Names
Wil E. Coyote, Ebenezer Scrooge, Dirk Diggler, Sherlock Holmes: distinctive character names created by writers. Can you match them?

200+ Ways to Replace "Hate"
Hate can range from dislike to loathing. If you've discovered too many occurrences of "hate" in your WIP, check these ways to replace them.

60+ Ways to Replace "That"
If "that" is a word that plagues your WIP, I'm here to tell you that there are methods that you can use to cure that plague.

60+ Ways to Replace the Adverb "Just"
Are you just astounded by the number of repetitions of the adverb just in your WIP? Just try these alternatives.

4 Ways to Turn a Notebook Into a Powerful Writing Tool
Lori Wade explains how writers can turn a paper notebook into a powerful writing assistant.

Grammar Goofs to Avoid at the Office: Part Two
Five more grammar blunders that might raise eyebrows at the office or alienate smart readers.

Grammar Goofs to Avoid at the Office: Part One
This is the first in a series of posts about grammar goofs that might irritate people in your office or alienate savvy readers.

How to Create a Title for Your Book
A title might not seem important when starting a WIP, but once a book nears completion, a definitive title becomes increasingly important.

700+ Ways to Describe Villains
Alfred Hitchcock said, "The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture." Try these ways to create word pictures with believable villains.

Tips to Stack the Odds When Submitting to Literary Journals
An excellent way for writers to build a portfolio is to be published in literary journals. This post provides a few tips for improving the acceptance odds.

200+ Ways to Say "Excited"
Writers want readers to be excited by their words. This post will help wordcrafters create excitement without overuse of "excited" or "excitement."

150+ Ways to Say "Disappointed"
If you're disappointed by the number of times you've found "disappointed" in your WIP, these alternatives might rescue you.

150+ Ways to Say "Overwhelmed"
Book characters should experience emotional overwhelm when the story calls for it. Here are a few tools to overwhelm them without undue repetition.

150+ Ways to Say "Confused"
Confused about how to mitigate the overuse of "confused" in your writing? Relax. That confusion means you recognize the problem.

300+ Ways to Say "Love"
Some people toss the word "love" around like confetti. This post provides ways to show how characters feel without overusing "love."

200+ Ways to Say "Embarrassed"
People show embarrassment in many ways. Some are visible, and others aren't. This post provides the tools to embarrass characters as often as you wish.

300+ Ways to Say "Happy"
Rather than say a character is happy, writers can show the happiness or provide context that explains the reason for it.

500+ Ways to Replace the Verb "Make"
"Make" often invades writing, unnoticed until a WIP is read out loud. No wonder it's a nemesis for so many writers. Try these replacements.

350+ Ways to Replace the Verb "Take"
"Take" appears so often you might want to take a whip to the next writer who takes liberties with it. Take a look at these alternatives.

200+ Alternatives for Wide Eyes
Whether characters widen their eyes or exhibit wide-eyed gazes, those actions soon bore readers. Try these alternatives.

1200+ Ways to Describe the Sun Part 2
In the second part of this post you'll find sun verbs, nouns, props, cliches, and idioms.

1200+ Ways to Describe the Sun Part 1
Does your WIP include the sun? Find sun adjectives, similes, metaphors, colors, and shapes in the first of two posts.

Writing Rules: When Can You Break Them? (Rules 23-26)
This is the sixth in a series of articles about so-called writing rules. When is it acceptable to break them?

1000+ Ways to Describe Snow Part 2
How to add the magic -- or menace -- of snow to writing. This the second of two posts about ways to incorporate snow in creative writing.

1000+ Ways to Describe Snow Part 1
Snow can add intrigue or ambience to a WIP. This the first of two posts about ways to incorporate snow in creative writing.

Writing Rules: When Can You Break Them? (Rules 19-22)
This is the fifth in a series of articles about so-called writing rules. When is it acceptable to break them?

Writing Rules: When Can You Break Them? (Rules 15-18)
This is the fourth in a series of articles about so-called writing rules. When is it acceptable to break them?

Writing Rules: When Can You Break Them? (Rules 11-14)
This is the third in a series of articles about so-called writing rules. When is it acceptable to break them?

Writing Rules: When Can You Break Them? (Rules 7-10)
This is the second in a series of articles about so-called writing rules. When is it acceptable to break them?

Writing Rules: When Can You Break Them? (Rules 1-6)
This is the first in a series of articles about so-called writing rules. When is it acceptable to break them?

1300+ Ways to Describe Fingers
Fingers perform complex tasks, soothe fevered brows, and wipe away tears. Discover ways to describe them in Part 1 of this post.

700+ Ways to Describe Eyebrows
Eyebrows, forehead fuzz, eye coifs ... No matter what writers call them, eyebrows can enhance descriptions, show emotion, or add humor.

600+ Ways to Describe Chests
Whether you need literal or figurative ways to describe chests, you'll find helpful resources in this post.

600+ Ways to Describe Toes
What if a barefoot character has missing toes? Or her toe ring traps her foot in a crevice near the beach? Story prompts?

600+ Ways to Describe Knees
Whether you're looking for literal or figurative ways to depict knees in narrative, you'll find more than 600 options here.

400+ Ways to Describe Knuckles
Do you crack your knuckles while waiting for inspiration? This post will help you knuckle down and get creative--with knuckles.

500+ Ways to Describe Elbows
People tend to overlook elbows. However, judicious inclusion of this oft-ignored body part in your WIP adds depth to characters.
 
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#13 ·
This topic reminds me of an experiment we did in school. I think it was around Halloween time. The teacher had closed boxes filled with different substances. The boxes had a small hole in them that allowed us to put our hands in but not see what was inside. We had to guess the contents by what we felt.

Pretty interesting. Very easy to be wrong.
 
#20 ·
#22 ·
Grimace, the corners of her/his mouth tumbled.....
 
#23 ·
Sean Sweeney said:
Grimace, the corners of her/his mouth tumbled.....
Sorry, no offense to you Sean, but this is one of my pet hates - when someone's lips "curl up at the corner" or their "brow furrowed". A simple "smiled" or "frowned" is all that's needed.
As for the OP, if you're referencing characters' facial expressions so often that you're now struggling for alternatives, you're using that device far too much. And your dialogue should be portraying that emotion anyway.
As an editor I see authors constantly, repetitively, describing frowning, smiling, nodding and shrugging.
Try saving your MS as a nonsense file that you can fiddle with, then do a Find and Replace with something like Find "smile" and Replace with "smole". The process will display how many times the edit is applied. It's a way of discovering how often you're using any word or phrase - and you'll probably get a nasty fright.
Good luck with it.
 
#24 ·
Graeme Hague said:
You made a very good point, but the challenge I find is the need to add beats to break up the dialogues so half the page doesn't read like a script. I've in fact intentionally observed people in conversations in real life. Interestingly, in real life people don't move or gesture that much when they're talking. If they're sitting in Starbucks talking they just talk for a long time and nothing much happens except their facial expressions (other than eating or drinking beverages). But in fiction we have to find things to break up the dialogues, so it's not all about portraying emotions.
 
#25 ·
It depends a lot on the weight of the emotion. If it's just to break up dialogue (and coffee shop scenes in particular are hard I find), then just a frown or a smile. If the emotion has more importance then it needs something more than just a frown. What are they doing with their hands and the rest of their bodies?

Tbh, I use people shredding up paper napkins way too much in cafe scenes :) I think because it's a personal habit.
 
#26 ·
At a cafe -- where there isn't much of what actors call business, which means body movement -- the point-of-view character could make little observations about each character's tendencies, past, or tastes before they speak, in order to avoid the script look and keep this in novel territory.
 
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