Well. Thankfully I am not a writer because I am SURE I would write those all the time. I can see exactly what you mean and I am now worried that I have given instructions to my 6th graders to try and use other words instead of "said". So... is it best to just stick to "said" and only use adverbs if the intention of what is being said isn't clear?

Thank you so much for those examples. It has got me thinking and I'll no doubt be on the look out for those.

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