Some are colloquial - appropriate for dialogue or conversational narrative. If You’re Stuck, Investigate These Instant Sad Alternatives Sad state of affairs: upsetting situation In the edited version, the power of dialogue combined with Roger’s slouch show his sadness. “What should I do now? The bank won’t approve my loan.” Roger hung up the phone and slouched into his chair. Roger was sad because the bank wouldn’t lend him any money. Amy cried, and Mommy dried her tears.Ī few extra words convey pathos that could be the basis for several paragraphs or an entire chapter. Santa’s milk and cookies still lay on the mantel, uneaten. The space under the Christmas tree was empty. Why is Amy sad? If we show the situation that caused the tears, we don’t need sad: Same number of words, stronger adjective, more active sentence. Maria’s anguished eyes filled Charlie with compassion. We can edit this sentence to create a short but effective alternative: Maria’s sad eyes made Charlie feel compassionate.įeel is a filter word. Is there any doubt now about the depth of Jordan’s sadness? However, let’s assume the phone holds irreplaceable photos of a loved one who has passed away that would cause a strong reaction:Ĭhin trembling, Jordan picked up the smashed cell phone. Nothing in the preceding sentence shows the degree of Jordan’s emotion.Ī smashed cell phone might evoke a mild response if it has been backed up recently or doesn’t contain any important data. With a sad expression, Jordan picked up the smashed cell phone. Her monotone voice adds to the scene, as does her dialogue. Justine clicks the front door shut - a quiet action. Justine clicked the front door shut and murmured in monotone to her parents, “I lost the election.” ![]() Knew filters the action through the senses of Justine’s parents. Her parents knew from her sad look that she had lost the election. In this case, I swapped to be sad with the more active to mourn. Whenever an adjective appears with to be ( am, are, is, was, were, will be, etc.), the narrative suffers. There’s nothing wrong with this sentence, especially if it’s dialogue, but we could eliminate sad:ĭad had a long, fulfilling life, and he wouldn’t want us to mourn for him now that he’s gone. (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)ĭad had a long, fulfilling life, and he wouldn’t want us to be sad for him now that he’s gone. If you need additional beats, consult a body language dictionary. They might exhibit various behaviors, including: Sad should also be removed from the following phrases and others like them - except in dialogue, which should seem natural:ĭid you notice that many of the previous phrases include and? Keep that in mind as you edit your work. Why burden readers with two words that mean the same thing? ![]() Most thesauruses list sad as a synonym for tragic. So how can a writer maintain mood without losing readers? By showing emotion or replacing sad with other adjectives. But not so much if Mary Sue is sad on every page.
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