Said?

There's nothing worse than seeing the word "said" a million times on one page. Well, there are worse things, but "said, said, said" is bad enough to make you want to scream, or be sick, or leave home and join the circus.

You can make your stories much more interesting to read if you use alternative words occasionally.

The following piece uses "said" eight times. You can choose some alternatives. Remember that you do not have to remove every "said".

"Which path shall we take?" Dumpy said. "This one," Spuddo said, pointing to the left. Dumpy nodded towards the other path. "I think this one would be better," he said. Spuddo said, "No. This one." "I am going this way," Dumpy said. "You are stupid," Spuddo said. "This is definitely the way to go." "I bet I will be home before you," Dumpy said. "No chance," Spuddo said.

"Which path shall we take?" Dumpy .
"This one," Spuddo , pointing to the left.
Dumpy nodded towards the other path. "I think this one would be better," he .
Spuddo , "No. This one."
"I'm going this way," Dumpy .
"You are stupid," Spuddo . "This is definitely the way to go."
"I bet I will be home before you," Dumpy .
"No chance," Spuddo .