Also, I need some creative minds. I hate the word 'look' in my writing.
He looked inside the drawer.
She looked at her partner.
It's so boring. And yet, when I write, my characters LOOK a lot. So, I need your help...
What's a creative way to say 'look'?
Peered? Scanned? Glanced? Just tossing out ideas.
ReplyDeleteClarissa - Thanks for sharing those free Kindle reads. And as for synonyms?
ReplyDeleteI like peered, glanced, eyed, and things such as leafed through instead of looked through. Hope this helps...
Peered and glanced are also two of my favorites. I also use gazed or something similar to 'slanted my view'. I think it all depends on the context and action of the character. :)
ReplyDeleteChange the verb and all is well - rummaged searched glanced turn it into a question... was she trying to
ReplyDeletewhy was she... what was holding her attention... fascinated by what was in the drawer she tenderly...etc etc :0)
He searched the drawer.
ReplyDeleteShe studied her partner.
Just some thoughts.
Depends on the context, really.
ooh, me likes cookbooks, not chicken ones, but me still likes cookbooks :)
ReplyDeleteMy characters do some leering, peeking, glancing. I also do some things that IMPLY looking (there is a fair bit of eyebrow raising or eye widening... sometimes even an eye pop)... and i like Dan's suggestions... adding the WHY they are looking opens the door: examined, studied, searched... yeah, those are good.
ReplyDeleteoh, man, C. My characters "look" a lot, too. I've tried having them do more "studying" and "watching." Or I try to recast the description.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I always think of eyeballs when I read "eyed," but that's must me being weird.
good luck! I'll be checking back for ideas myself~ :D <3
I try to avoid using a lot of synonyms simply because they start to draw attention to themselves. When I've used "look" too many times, I avoid the word altogether.
ReplyDeleteFor example:
"He opened the drawer and saw the knife." becomes "He opened the drawer. A bloody knife lay on the Gideon's Bible."
Or,
"He looked at the beautiful woman" becomes "A woman walked into the room, and he closed the book he'd been reading."
The examples are a bit simplistic, but I hope they help.
All good suggestions. Variety is helpful.
ReplyDeleteStudied or perused. It looks like others gave some good ones.
ReplyDeleteOff to take a look at Stick Dog.
Watched? Glanced? Stared? Erm.... observed? :-)
ReplyDeleteYay! take care
x
Um ... inspected, studied, focused on, eyed, spotted, gawked, gazed, glanced? :o)
ReplyDeleteHer eyes fell, roamed, crawled, slid.
ReplyDeleteGazed? Gleened? Searched? Stared?
ReplyDeleteThose were the things that came to my head first.
Awesome ideas guys. I love Connie's idea of just avoiding it and doing more showing in a creative way.
ReplyDeleteHe rummaged through the drawer. She drowned within the pools of his eyes.
ReplyDeleteThe secret is to seize more powerful verbs.
what about glaring?
ReplyDelete"look and looked" are way overused in most manuscripts! I like Hart's comment. Right on with everything she says.
ReplyDeleteGape, leer, ogle, eye, examine, scrutinize, take in.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am definitely adding that dog/hamburger story to my collection at once!
I have the same problem, in particular when writing in English. So I use the dictionary a lot. It somewhat easier when I write in my own language, and have a larger vocabulary. I found many good suggestions in the comments above >:)
ReplyDeleteCold As Heaven
Okay, I've got to ask - I've been dinged by critiquers for "roaming body parts", i.e. "his eyes traveled around the room". Is this an absolute no-no or a personal preference kind of thing? Opinions, anyone?
ReplyDeleteI try to stay away from 'look' too. Sometimes I don't even have them look anymore...a girl might tip her head up and ask a question. Anything else but look. :)
ReplyDeleteStick Dog? :D
ReplyDeleteGazed, observed, eyed?
ReplyDeleteWow! Looks like you've already got quite the list of synonyms. :) Thanks for sharing the Kindle Reads!
ReplyDeleteI love free ebooks!
ReplyDeleteAs for look, looks like everyone got the good ones. I'll add oggling.
You can omit 'looked' all together if you're using a close POV. Instead of saying MC 'looked' just show what MC is seeing. :D
ReplyDeleteScrutinised. Glared. It depends on the context, and you can always get away with synonyms in a novel. A short story, no.
ReplyDeleteSometimes looking says it best, but I know what you're saying. A lot of good choices given so far and a thesaurus will provide so many more. I tend to go use simplistic words much of the time and probably should reconsider as you are doing.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Please see my guest post at:
So You Want to be a Writer?
He perused the drawer.
ReplyDeleteHe glanced through the drawer.
He ran his eyes over the drawer's contents like it was a stripper in a g-string.
He sorted through the drawer's contents.
He peered in the drawer.
He peeked in the drawer.
Hi Clarissa .. Ah well everyone's taken my knowledge base .. clever them .. some great answers here .. cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI have the same problem and use Dictionary.com the Thesaurus tab a lot. Thanks for the Kindle links. Always looking for great healthy recipes!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing the free reads. I love free. Sounds like you have tons of great ideas already!
ReplyDeletenice post :D
ReplyDeleteI say look a lot, too. But IMHO if that's what the characters do, it's fine. I think it depends on context.
ReplyDeleteAnn Best, Author of In the Mirror, A Memoir of Shattered Secrets
Browsed, flipped through, came across, perused, peeked, glare, glimpsed, gaze, surfed.
ReplyDeleteAgain it depends how it's used.
I want that Stick Dog book.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thank you!
Hi Clarissa - thanks for your nice comments on my interview over at Lydia Kang's blog. The closed eyes thing is a little like what Stephen King suggests - except he suggests doing it BEFORE you write. I do that too, but then I just start writing. I dunno -it works for me! Okay, my contribution is: peeked
ReplyDeletelike the suggestions!
ReplyDeleteOh wow, this is great!! I love how you're showcasing these freebies. :) I really need to get a kindle!!
ReplyDeleteAngela@ The Bookshelf Muse
Thanks for even more tips on books!
ReplyDelete