Descriptive words, Tropes of writing

I don't know if you have heard but there exist 36 Dramatic situations in writing which basically every creation falls under, one way or another. Knowing them could help you create ideas and playing with them, mixing them, is basically what all writers do, consciously or unconsciously.

I personally have gotten to know about them on my writing journey and even though it's not essential you learn them by heart or anything, I believe that knowing them would prove beneficial to you as a writer. Below they are listed.

The 36 Dramatic Situations

Supplication—Asking or begging for help.
Deliverance—Rescuing or being rescued.
Crime Pursued by Vengeance—Seeking revenge for a crime.
Vengeance Taken for Kin upon Kin—Revenge within a family or a tight-knit group.
Pursuit—In pursuit of or being pursued by.
Disaster—A disaster of any magnitude or context (even a bad hair day).
Falling Prey to Cruelty or Misfortune—Bad things happening, either intentionally or not.
Revolt—Rebelling against anything, in any context.
Daring Enterprise—A bold adventure in any context, large or small.
Abduction—A kidnapping of any kind, even if it's capturing someone psychologically.
The Enigma—A mystery; a riddle to be solved, of any magnitude.
Obtaining—Trying to obtain something real or intangible.
Enmity of Kin—Hatred between relatives or among a tight-knit group.
Rivalry of Kin—Rivalry between kinsmen, in any kind of relationship.
Murderous Adultery—Adultery, but with murder or murderous intent in any context.
Madness—Insanity in any form, whether it's a Jim Carrey comedy or Hannibal Lecter.
Fatal Imprudence—Doing something unwise with fatal consequences (often metaphoric).
Involuntary Crimes of Love—Similar to situation 26, but not intentional.
Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized—Hurting someone you know without realizing who they are.
Self-Sacrifice for an Ideal—Sacrificing oneself (often metaphorically) for what you believe in.
Self-Sacrifice for Kindred—Giving of yourself, even your life, for love or duty.
All Sacrificed for a Passion—Pouring everything you've got into what you believe in.
Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones—Having to sacrifice someone you love.
Rivalry of Superior and Inferior—Self-explanatory, but who really is the superior one?
Adultery—Literal adultery, or violating a trust of any kind.
Crimes of Love—Often sexual, but can be any kind of violation in a close relationship.
Discovering the Dishonor of a Loved One—Learning that someone you love is dishonorable.
Obstacles to Love—Anything that blocks a love of any kind.
An Enemy Loved—Falling in love with an enemy or respect for an enemy.
Ambition—All types of ambition; even a total lack of ambition.
Conflict with a God—Going up against any great power.

Mistaken Jealousy—Being jealous, but for an incorrect reason.

Erroneous Judgment—Making a bad choice, of any magnitude.
Remorse—Feeling bad for something, or conversely, a total lack of remorse.
Recovery of a Lost One—Getting back someone or something you've lost.
Loss of Loved Ones—Losing someone or something you love.




How these can come in handy?

Let's say you have no idea where to start. No plot in your head, but you do what to create something. You come to read these and you may find an interest. Let's say you decide to go for the Remorse situation. And your mind comes up with reasons someone could feel remorse, what happened, what that character did. Basically, I see them as a kicker to creating thoughts/plots.

Descriptive words

As a writer, vocabulary is important. Having a good knowledge of various words in the language you are writing can help you describe better the image that is in your head. If you are new at writing, however, expressing yourself in fancy ways may be hard so I suggest to have saved somewhere alternative vocabulary for the basic words, and after you write, on the proofreading part, you go and find the words you have repeated, or are to plain, and you replace them with better words.

I will provide you with all the saved vocabulary words I currently have in my possession and you can screenshot from here and keep them.

Let's start with a very common word

Said

How to say said without using the word said again and again. Here are some synonyms.

Grunted                   replied                     explained               estimated     affirmed      scolded

Added                      reminded               challenged                assured     hinted           boasted

Argued                    expressed                    forwarned           corrected      uttered      told

Threatened          emphasized                shouted             mumbled       called          demanded

Announced          pronounced                 growled            corrected       mentioned       warned

Admitted             pleaded                             joked                 whispered     declared            confessed

Asked                   Elaborated                        Snapped            Noted            

Yes

Affirmative,                    By all means,         Most assuredly,         Very well,

Fine,                                 Certainly,                Naturally,                    Unquestionably,

Good,                             Definitely,                 Of course,                      Without fail,

Okay,                               Exactly,                    Positively,                      Yep

True,                              Gladly,                        Precisely,

Yeah,                              Good enough,         Sure thing,

All right,                          Granted,                   Surely, 

Beyond a doubt,        Indubitably,             Undoubtedly,

Also

Furthermore,                   In conjunction with,            In like manner,         Including,      Too,

Along with,                        Besides,                                  Additionally,             Along,              Still,

More than that,               Further,                                    Likewise,                    More,                And,

In addition,                     As well as,                                Moreover,                 On top of,         Again,

Plus,                                    Over and above,                  Together with,        Withal,             To boot

Really

Certainly          Easily       Genuinely   

 Honestly     Positively      Precisely 

 Truly        Undoubtedly   Unmistakably

Very

Absolutely    Acutely   Decidently  Deeply

Eminently       Exceedingly     Excessively 

Greatly     Highly 

Looked at

Glanced at      Surveyed      Noticed     Stared at   Peered at 

  Focused on    Gawked at      Saw  Scanned   Inspected

  Observed   Viewed   Took notice of    Checked out    Eyeballed

   Glimpsed    Caught sight of    Examined  Watched   Beheld

I will suggest a site that could help you when you are thinking of something but you don't know the word for it. wordhippo.com  It finds words you can't think of but can describe

(I will supply a vocabulary on how to describe e feelings later on too.)

In the next chapter, we are gonna touch on the topic of POV

See you there :)