Cleaning up my notes for the On Writing Well by William Zinsser. And found this quote again (from page 111):

Finally, don’t strain to find synonyms for “he said.” Don’t make your man assert, aver and expostulate just to avoid repeating ‘he said," and please–please!–don’t write “he smiled” or he grinned." I’ve never heard anybody smile. The reader’s eye slips over “he said” anyway, so it’s not worth a lot of fuss. If you crave variety, choose synonyms that catch the shifting nature of the conversation. “He pointed out, “he explained,” “he replied,” he added”–these all carry a particular meaning. But don’t use “he added” if the man is merely averring and not putting a postscript on what he just said.

I love how he can say so much with so little, and I’ve learned a new word as well: aver (State or assert to be the case).

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