Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “said” in your writing? Try using these words/phrases instead:
stated
commented
declared
spoke
responded
voiced
noted
uttered
iterated
explained
remarked
acknowledged
mentioned
announced
shouted
expressed
articulated
exclaimed
proclaimed
whispered
babbled
observed
deadpanned
joked
hinted
informed
coaxed
offered
cried
affirmed
vocalized
laughed
ordered
suggested
admitted
verbalized
indicated
confirmed
apologized
muttered
proposed
chatted
lied
rambled
talked
pointed out
blurted out
chimed in
brought up
wondered aloud
(NOTE: Keep in mind that all of these words have slightly different meanings and are associated with different emotions/scenarios.)
Does anyone ever think about how the clans used to actually have differences in culture and lifestyle and how all of that got erased in the newer books?
Imagine how cool it would have been if the Erins had explored these cultural differences between the clans even FURTHER because that would have given the series so much potential.
Here are some examples of just how cool cultural differences can be:
I want to see RiverClan using their skills in swimming way more than they do currently, let them swim to the gathering island every full moon, let them attack other clans from the depths of the lake and drag cats down into the water to drown them. Let them still have their easygoing and relaxed attitude but show how formidable they can be in a fight and make it clear that they are not to be messed with.
Give them their own traditions too, let them celebrate the coming of spring each year because of ice melting and the river thawing so that they can fish again. Let them collect pretty flower petals on this day to decorate their dens and have them celebrate it by all going down to the river to fish.
Show their clan’s love for pretty trinkets and have them gather pretty shells and pebbles from the river. Let the apprentices play games this way by seeing who can find the prettiest shell for their den and boasting about it later. I imagine the other clans would view them as relaxed and easygoing, always having a ready source of food thanks to the river but at the same time they know to fear them for their almost unnatural fighting skills in the water.
Imagine WindClan still keeping their old tradition of tunnelling even at the lake territory, imagine WindClan tunnellers accidentally discovering the old forgotten tunnels that run under the forest and finding out pieces of their history this way, possibly even before Jayfeather does. I wish they had kept the tunnelling tradition alive because that was what made WindClan so unique.
Show just how fast WindClan can be, let them use the tunnels to invade other territories and let them be almost impossible for the others to catch up to. They might be considered scrawny but show that they have an advantage in battle because of their uncanny speed.
In general let them have a closed off and cold approach to the other clans. Show that they think they are closer to StarClan than the others because they live and sleep under open skies. They might seem almost mysterious to the other clans and deeply rooted in their traditions. Let them have oral storytelling nights and let them chart constellations in the night sky, keeping alive the tales of their ancestors.
The could even believe that the wind which blows over the moors is holy, the echo of the voices of their ancestors. I picture them as a religious clan, even more than the others. Perhaps they pray by listening to the wind and leaving offerings to be blown away in the breeze (usually the feathers of birds of prey)
Next up is ShadowClan, the stereotypical bad guys. I would have loved if ShadowClan had been shown to follow a more nocturnal lifestyle, being active mostly at night. They would be masters of stealth, blending into the shadows and coating themselves with mud and leaves for camouflage due to their territories limited undergrowth. This might be what gives them their stereotypical bad smell, that ThunderClan always complains about.
Their territory is very marshy and due to little undergrowth it would be harder for them to stalk prey. This has caused them to be the stealthiest out of all the clans and the best hunters. But they are also able to use this stealth to their advantage in a fight. They attack without warning from the shadows and rely on surprise, always striking at night when it’s hardest to see them.
Their tradition could be the celebration of the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.
And finally we have the main protagonists ThunderClan. This clan has always felt bland to me in terms of tradition because they don’t seem to have anything that really makes them stand out. I imagine they are probably the best trackers due to having to hunt and track prey in thick bushy undergrowth.
But honestly I would have loved if they had been given something to make them special and unique. Any ideas?
i dont think there is a word yet that can describe how absolutely vile israel is. they killed thirsty children by targeting a water tank.
how inhumane do you have to be to support this, to fund this, to excuse this, to ignore this and pretend as if it isn’t going on?
* news was originally shared by Ramy Abdul, chairman of Euromed Human Rights Monitor
it is also not the first time Israel has targeted water tanks . this is how some Palestinians in Gaza get water supplies since the IDF threatens to shoot them.