It is almost always better to use the verb said when you are reporting someone’s words.

Newspaper and other journalist’s style guides disagree over whether to use the past tense (said) or present tense (says). It doesn’t matter which one choose, just stick with one and, for the most part, make sure you use the same tense throughout. There are times when you may need to write someone says this now, but said something different in the past.

While you can legitimately use said even with written words -  if you are quoting what someone wrote in an email or in a Twitter tweet – it is better to make it clear the person wasn’t talking at the time.

The alternatives to said are often pompous or value-laden. I once worked with a fellow journalist who sprinkled his copy with words like averred or commented. Neither word adds any useful information and may frighten off some readers.

It’s possible readers will interpret other alternatives as suggesting the speaker is lying or misinformed. Think of claimed or according to.

One alternative I allow myself is the verb ask, but only when someone is clearly asking a question.

Fiction writer Elemore Leonard has another perspective on this. In his excellent Ten rules of writing he says:

Never use a verb other than “said” to carry dialogue.

The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But said is far less intrusive than grumbled, gasped, cautioned, lied. I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with “she asseverated,” and had to stop reading to get the dictionary.

Leonard writes fast-paced fiction with terrific dialogue, if sticking with ’said’ is good enough for him, it’s  good enough for the rest of us.

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There’s nothing wrong with writing lists – they work well online where attention spans are shorter.

If the list items are short, you can use bullet points. Or, if the order is important, choose numbered bullets.

Both make text easy to scan and read quickly.

Another, more elegant, approach is to write a variation on the following theme:

First, something happened. Second, something else. Next, we used a little elegant variation to make things more interesting. Then, we did this. Last, we finished up.

Spell out the words from first to ninth* then write 10th, 15th, hundredth.

Some people use firstly, secondly, thirdly and so on. While strictly speaking both approaches are grammatically correct, I’d argue adding -ly is old-fashioned and unnecessarily fussy.

What’s more, you’ll end up looking silly if you want to deal with lots of items and reach eleventhly or even millionthly.

So, stick with the simpler format.

* or perhaps tenth. This depends on your taste or house style, but remember to stay consistent.

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Write mainly with nouns and verbs. Only use adjectives if they help make your meaning more precise.

In his book Daily Mirror Style, Keith Waterhouse describes the journalist’s view of adjectives. He says:

Adjectives should not be allowed in newspapers unless they have something to say.

People often think adjectives add colour to their writing. They do. But colourful writing isn’t necessarily easier to understand. In volume one of Editing and Writing, another newspaper journalist Harold Evans says adjectives give writing a superficial glitter.

He goes on to say:

Every adjective should be examined to see: is it needed to define the subject or is it there for emphasis?

Evans says “over-emphasis destroys credibility”.

Take care when using adjectives for emphasis. For example, the word very often adds nothing to a phrase. It can usually be left out without changing the meaning. The same usually applies to really, actually, rather and quite.

In practice many adjectives have no substance. You can removed most from your sentences. You won’t lose much, but you will gain clarity.

On a personal note, I’ve been paid to write by the word for many years so my copy is often loaded with lucrative adjectives – but my writing would certainly better without them.

For the record:

Nouns are used to name people, places, things and ideas. Verbs are doing words. They tell you what is going on. We say Adjectives modify nouns by telling you what kind it is, how many there are and which is the one being talked about. Adverbs do the same job for verbs.

Further reading:
Better writing: Rhythm
Better writing: Companies are singular
Better writing: The inverted pyramid
Better writing: Keep it simple
Better writing: And
Better writing: Capital letters