Hey, did you come here from Tumblr? Are you still coming to grips with the website? Here are some lesser known affordances.

• You can only have one assassination plot ongoing, but you can join up to ten initiated by other users
• The barter menu lets you exchange rare resources, not just iron and horses
• You can shift click on the ‘raise banner’ button to raise your entire horde at once
• If you have enough lances in reserve, cavalry archers will take part in the shock phase of combat

does this website have keyboard shortcuts bc i Will die without access to quick reblog (i know it's not called reblogging here but work with me i'm new here)

"Some people are too concerned with trying to avoid using the word 'said' for dialogue," the author proclaimed.

"But isn't it bad writing to repeat a word too frequently?" her pupil queried.

"Not if it's a word with a common, basic function," the author responded. "You might as well try to avoid using the word 'the'," she added.

Short version is "Beth is right."
Middle version is "Beth is right, and the fact that so many people tell new authors to avoid said is endlessly frustrating."
Long version is for another time, but I will add one thing on a similar vein of "Dispelling harmful writing 'tips'"

In a related note, please be careful with adverbs but don't totally ignore them. The general rule of thumb is to use them only when they provide new information. "She smiled happily" is redundant and the adverb ads nothing to that. "She smiles sadly" provides new context that changes how the smile is interpreted. This can also be used to provide contrast with a later physical action. "She said calmly" probably isn't needed unless there was a reason for the character to not seem calm. "She said calmly through gritted teeth" sets up a contrast between tone and appearance. "She said angrily through gritted teeth" is redundant.

The old man chuckled merrily. "I love adverbs!" he boomed expansively.