Hi, sorry to be a pain but I hope you know the answer. 1 your writing is incredible and your Pray for Icarus series is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read! It got me hooked on fics so thank you for sharing 2 I'm attempting to write something and cant think of the word I need to save myself! Person A says something witty/sarcastic and person B panics for whatever reason. Person A "Alright B, I was only joking." How would you describe their tone/demeanor as reassure seems quite weak?
Thank you! Iâm glad you liked it, and welcome to the joy of fanfic. :)
As for the question, it depends on the mood of the scene and the tone of the second characterâs reassurance. You could go with âsootheâ if you want to emphasize that theyâre being gentle and soft with it, or you could alternatively use a word that implies speed - they âjump inâ, they âinterruptâ, they âsay quicklyâ - to show that theyâre leaping to stop the other person feeling bad. You could use actions instead of descriptive words, as well, and again, that gives different impressions:
âI was only joking,â said Person A, with a contrite expression. - they regret panicking A
âI was only joking,â said Person A, eyes wide. - theyâre surprised at the reaction
âI was only joking,â said Person A, reaching out to lay a gentle hand on Bâs shoulder. - their priority is reassuring B
Also, bookmark thesaurus.com! I know you know what a thesaurus is, but the website version has the neat advantage that sometimes you can home in on a word even without being very clear on what you want. For example, if you look at the page on for âreassureâ, none of the words on there quite seem to fit what youâre asking here, to my mind, but âcomfortâ seems kind of closer? And when you click on that, you get a list that includes my first suggestion, âsootheâ.
Sometimes if Iâm not quite sure of the word I want, I search for the closest thing to it - even if thatâs incredibly vague - and just keep clicking on things that are closer to what I want, until something catches my eye.
However! My number one recommendation when using a thesaurus is NOT to choose words that you donât already use pretty regularly. The idea of it is to jog your memory to find the right word out of your existing vocabulary. If you pick words that youâre not as familiar with or wouldnât ordinarily use, it can end up standing out like a sore thumb. (For the love of something, do not have Person A âinspiritâ Person B.)