[Don't know what you were expecting, I'm not that interesting]

Just a twenty-somethin year old human trying to ignore her crippling fears one shitpost at a time.

[lumar014]

Goodbye my little baby, I will always love you and remember those wonderful 17 years you spent with me.

It's time for you to rest now.

[whenweallvote]

Many of us are taught that slavery came to an end with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, but for enslaved people in Texas, freedom didn’t come until June 19, 1865.

Swipe to learn about the history of Juneteenth, and why it’s a celebration of freedom, culture, and progress.

[sick-jan]

[kvothes]

so true

[lesbianredpanda]

Official Wednesday post

[westiec]

It's Tuesday

[shopwitchvamp]

Happy "Not Only Is It Not Friday, It's Not Even Thursday, Official Wednesday, It's Tuesday" Monday, everyone

[quakerjoe]

[ariesrin]

Writing tips: He said, she said...

Readers don't tend to notice 'said', while it's there in the sentence, it doesn't give the sentence any life. It gets the job done, mostly...

Here are some options to try!

whispered / muttered / mumbled → soft or secretive

shouted / yelled / barked → anger, urgency

growled / hissed → danger, teasing, frustration

murmured / breathed → intimacy, vulnerability

snapped / barked / snapped back → irritation, defensiveness

laughed / chuckled / giggled → laughing, fun, playful or flirty

asked / questioned / queried / inquired → curiosity, questioning

demanded / insisted → authority or control

sighed / groaned → fatigue, exasperation, longing

When you're looking to replace said, think about why. You'll generally want to do this when you need the following:

when the tone of the line needs more context.

when you want to show emotion instead of telling it.

when your character’s body language, action, or expression can do the talking instead.

Take a look at the scene you're writing, is the character saying their line? Or are they yelling it? Screaming it? Are they enraged, or perhaps is their voice a broken whisper from grief?

That being said, you shouldn't always avoid using 'said.' It's easy to read in long sentences, and it keeps the focus on the dialogue rather than the rest of the scenes. That may be beneficial and a key component to parts of your story.

[mysticdragon3md3]

[thewatcher727]

Writing Description Notes:

Updated 19th October 2025 More writing tips, review tips & writing description notes

Dialogue Tags

Facial Expressions

Masking Emotions

Smiles/Smirks/Grins

Eye Contact/Eye Movements

Blushing

Voice/Tone

Body Language/Idle Movement

Thoughts/Thinking/Focusing/Distracted

Silence

Memories

Happy/Content/Comforted

Love/Romance

Sadness/Crying/Hurt

Confidence/Determination/Hopeful

Surprised/Shocked

Guilt/Regret

Disgusted/Jealous

Uncertain/Doubtful/Worried

Anger/Rage

Laughter

Confused

Speechless/Tongue Tied

Fear/Terrified

Mental Pain

Physical Pain

Tired/Drowsy/Exhausted

Eating

Drinking

Warm/Hot

Cold/Freezing

[ariesrin]

Alternatives to 'said'

When character is angry:

Snapped

Spat

Snarled

Hissed

Barked

...or sad:

Choked

Mumbled

Managed

Croaked

Murmured

...or if they're feeling nervous:

Stammered

Babbled

Rambled

Muttered

Squeaked

...and even when flirting:

Coaxed

Purred

Teased

Hummed

Crooned

[livelaughwriteit]

Character's Ways of Speaking

I am a creature of habit and I tend to stick to "said," "says," "spoke," and similar when doing dialogue. I have to Google and look on Pinterest for other ideas. There is a pin on Pinterest titled something like "Said is Dead" that I revisit a lot.

Blunt

Booming

Breathy

Whisper

Cryptic

Drawling

Gasped

Droning

Sing-Songed

Whiny

Formal

Gravelly

Hoarse

Mumbling

Groaning

Screaming

Precise

Quaint

Rambling

Roared

Sighed

Quoted

Growled

Rapid-fire

Slow

Squeaky

Repeated

Choked

Stuttering

Sputtering

This is list is ever growing as after a while, they all start to sound repeatitive.

[20thcenturystarlet]

New York City ballet production of Midsummer Nights Dream

[thepeelingrenoir]

The fact this isn't a painting is a testament to one of the greatest feats of set design and production I've ever seen.

[thepeelingrenoir]

My god just look at this! The lighting, set design, photography... I've just never seen anything like it.

[sisaloofafump]

This is from 1966 and you can see over a hundred photos on the NYPL digital collections website. It is absolutely gorgeous. These are just a few of my favourites.

Plus Puck's face here:

[luna-azzurra]

Vampire Romance Places!!<3

[hannibal-lecters-cock]

Tumblr fandoms be like:

[luna-azzurra]

A List of SMILE TYPES!!

₊˚⊹⋆ Genuine smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Fake smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Lopsided smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Crooked smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Toothy smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Close-lipped smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Dimpled smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Smirk

₊˚⊹⋆ Grin

₊˚⊹⋆ Shy smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Polite smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Sad smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Bitter smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Knowing smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Mysterious smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Mischievous smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Wicked smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Evil smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Gentle smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Warm smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Cold smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Tight smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Forced smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Strained smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Wolfish smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Feral smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Predatory smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Sweet smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Innocent smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Sarcastic smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Condescending smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Pitying smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Smug smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Self-satisfied smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Embarrassed smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Nervous smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Trembling smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Watery smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Tearful smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Radiant smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Dazzling smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Half-smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Fleeting smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Lingering smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Blinding smile

₊˚⊹⋆ Gummy smile

[writersisland]

Voice/Talking quirks to give your characters

Make sure not to overload every character with traits, giving each main character one specific trait is going to go a lot further by making it memorable

speaking fast, stumbling over their words, having to backtrack

rolling R's

sharp pronunciations (t instead of d, z instead of s, k instead of g...)

rounded pronounciaions (d instead of t, ...)

quiet / loud speaker

humming frequently in between words or sentences

very well articulated

stuttering

often pausing to thin before speaking

croaky voice

regional accents

slow / fast speaker

using certain words a lot

not lowering voice at the end of sentences, leaving them sounding a little like a question or an open ended statement

foreign accents

aggressive tone even when not meaning to

high / low pitched

difficulty pronouncing certain sounds

[luna-azzurra]

A List of VOICE QUALITIES!!

₊˚⊹⋆ Raspy voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Smooth voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Gravelly voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Honeyed voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Silky voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Husky voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Breathy voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Nasal voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Melodic voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Monotone voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Scratchy voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Throaty voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Whisper-soft voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Booming voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Crisp voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Musical voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Warm voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Cold voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Sharp voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Lilting voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Drawling voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Tinkling voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Thunderous voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Delicate voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Commanding voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Timid voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Trembling voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Steady voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Crackling voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Brittle voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Rich voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Thin voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Reedy voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Sonorous voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Whiny voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Cigarette-worn voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Youthful voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Weathered voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Crystalline voice

₊˚⊹⋆ Rough-edged voice

[luna-azzurra]

Royal Palace Rooms!! <3