He said, she said, they said, we said….. Does the word said, drive you crazy? Are you forever searching for other words for said. Do you think your favourite characters need other ways of speaking? Other words for said seems to give most writers a problem.

It’s perhaps your dream or fantasy to write a story. Maybe you have a book in your head, but ‘said’ gets in the way.

Stories are what drive authors forward, words drive them wild, but said drives them mad.

That’s from this website, which lists 500 and some alternatives for “said.” And this reminds me of a project two of my classmates did in fourth grade at Sunnyside Elementary School. Emily and Sarah compiled a list of alternatives and asked the class for contributions. I must’ve written forty or fifty, partly because I was a bit ahead of the game at that age, but mostly because I’d had a crush on Sarah for two years already at that point, and it would be another five before I gave up on it. The point is that lots of people think it’s necessary to use something (anything!) other than said, even teachers, who describe lesson plans for coming up with “creative alternatives” for that dull, dreary word. Read more »