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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
I remove the oldest lists from this post as I add new ones. If you want a complete index, you'll find it in the PDF archive.

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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#29 ·
Graeme Hague said:
As an editor I see authors constantly, repetitively, describing frowning, smiling, nodding and shrugging.
As a reader I have to say that I see too many books which are mainly heads talking, with nary an emotion or reaction displayed, and an excess of at least 50-60% dialogue. Dialogue is an important means of exposition in theatre and plays in general. Its usefulness in books is overestimated by many.
 
#30 ·
Yeah, I think trite body language is definitely overdone. I've read some books where every character is constantly doing these things, and it gets old. Faces and heads are not like dashboards on a car that indicate emotions or reactions.

furrowing their brow (concerned)
mouth fell open (surprised)
biting or chewing lip (worried) [sometimes they talk at the same time! I always act that out when I come to it!]
lump in throat/it in stomach (upset)
shrugging (showing that they still exist or sometimes showing that something isn't important)
grinning (often to indicate approval or pleasure, but really, people don't grin every time they are satisfied or pleased. It would really be creepy if everybody grinned as often as they do in some books. That's another one I act out)
eyebrows raised or arched (surprise)

edit: I don't have a problem with scowling or frowning, but as somebody else said, if I was worried about finding a different word for it I might be concerned that there was too much of it.

Great question! And I realize that I'm just some schmuck whose opinions are just that.
 
#31 ·
Al Stevens said:
It is my observation over a long number of years that interesting people include gestures, facial expressions, and body language in casual conversation. Boring people are deadpan and show little emotion or movement to accent or punctuate what they say.

For the OP, I like "glower."
Glower used once in a short story would work. More than that, and readers will notice it. Anything that takes a reader out, even for a microsecond, detracts from a piece.

If a character is aggravated, appropriate body language could include:

clenched jaw
crossed arms
pacing
tapping foot

The same character, if angry, might exhibit:

bared teeth
flared nostrils
stamping a foot
wide-legged stance

The post provides many such alternatives.
 
#32 ·
To have, or not to have? That is today's question.

The importance of have can't be ignored. As an auxiliary verb combined with a past participle, have forms the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect tenses, as well as the conditional mood. However, when used to express ownership, it can weaken writing.

Consider a woman in a black dress as she walks down the street. You could describe her in several ways:

She had a black dress.
She owned a black dress.
She paraded a black dress.
She wore a black dress.
She flaunted a black dress.
She modeled a black dress.

Over 100 Ways to Say "Have"

Edited to restore link. Drop me a PM if you have any questions. - Becca
 
G
#33 ·
Not sure about your example. If I am describing what a person is wearing, I would say "she wore..." Not "she had..."

She had a black dress merely states possession. It is a bad sentence not because of the word had, but because it doesn't tell us anything out of context.

She wore a black dress is a neutral statement.

She modeled a black dress implying that she is showing the dress to someone else.

She paraded a black dress sounds silly. Is she a Mummer? Maybe she paraded around in the black dress would make sense, implying that she was showing off.

She flaunted a black dress also sounds silly. Is she taunting someone with the dress? "I bought it and you couldn't" sort of thing?

Don't just change a word because some blog tells you the word is overused. Use the RIGHT WORD at the RIGHT TIME. Every one of those examples has a completely different meaning. They are not interchangeable words for "had." I see this all the time as an editor. Writers using "cute" words to try to avoid overuse of a "bad word" when there is nothing wrong with the word they should have used. It is like those blog posts telling you to avoid the word "said" in dialogue.

Words have meaning. We shouldn't just grab a thesaurus and swap out words without making sure we are using the right word in the right context.
 
#34 ·
"Her dress was black".
Don't over-complicate things. If you're ever referring to a list of "100 Alternatives" to a term such as "have" you need to reassess what you're trying to do.
And as I'm writing this Julie beat me to it!
 
#36 ·
Bards and Sages (Julie) said:
Use the RIGHT WORD at the RIGHT TIME. Every one of those examples has a completely different meaning. They are not interchangeable words for "had."
Exactly. Had is weak. If the woman has lost twenty pounds and wants to show off her new figure, she might flaunt the dress. If the dress is new and she's looking for reactions, she might model it. The correct verb choice will enliven writing.
 
#40 ·
GeneDoucette said:
the dress had a woman inside of it
The female's corpus was located within the confines of a piece of fabric constructed according to cultural fashions and governmental regulations to qualify as a "nice dress" whose threads were dyed in order to absorb all light, generating a color that humans refer to as "black".
 
#41 ·
eroticatorium said:
The female's corpus was located within the confines of a piece of fabric constructed according to cultural fashions and governmental regulations to qualify as a "nice dress" whose threads were dyed in order to absorb all light, generating a color that humans refer to as "black".
Lulz forever! You aiming that award they give to worst writing of the year? :p
 
#42 ·
GrandmaBirdie said:
To have, or not to have? That is today's question.

The importance of have can't be ignored. As an auxiliary verb combined with a past participle, have forms the perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect tenses, as well as the conditional mood. However, when used to express ownership, it can weaken writing.

Consider a woman in a black dress as she walks down the street. You could describe her in several ways:

She had a black dress.
She owned a black dress.
She paraded a black dress.
She wore a black dress.
She flaunted a black dress.
She modeled a black dress.



link removed -- promotion not allowed in the WC :) --Ann
I am not sure 'had' is weak here, as much as it is just not proper. Now, if you said, 'She had ON a black dress' it would be appropriate, and yes, a bit weak.
 
#47 ·
The use of 'had' you might find in that sentence more realistically is 'She had a black dress on.' That is a sentence that works and if it's not an important point, you might go with it. I don't love it, but some things aren't worth working yourself to death over (unless you're James Joyce and know the 7 words you wrote today but not the order they should go in).
 
#49 ·
mdrake said:
Can we just not with the stupid rules threads? ::)

Kboards is like an oasis in the sea of crappy forums dedicated to people arguing over adverbs and how many times "was" gets used in a novel.
I agree that this is indeed an oasis in the sea of craft wars. Except that these "rules" no one wants to bother with often save one from bad writing. And some are actually rules about grammar, which so, so many writers I've read lately really need to know. Spelling, grammar and punctuation have been standardized for a long time, and not knowing them is often excused as being "new", and also by people not wanting to spend the time to learn them.

Discussions about things like use of "said" need to be prefaced for newbies by a warning that only occasional use of other words should be considered. Those "5000 alternatives to X" are an abomination. And why are we even talking about such stuff any more? Any decent writing book covers the subject, and more, so aspiring writers should already know this. If they don't, there's no reason they can't learn.
 
#51 ·
Why do your characters shrug?

Perhaps you use shrugs as action beats to differentiate between speakers in dialogue; or maybe you're on an early draft, and you write the first thing that comes to mind.

A shrug should be more than an action beat. People shrug for many reasons. If you can determine their motivation, you can substitute alternative body language.

Over 100 Ways to Say "Shrug."
 
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