Sat Is Devious

It sneaks into your writing while you’re not looking.

It pretends to be innocent. Innocuous.

Until you read your story out loud, and the sibilant sounds of excessive sats produce showers of spit that spray onto your screen.

Go ahead. Search your work in progress for sat, sit, sits, and sitting.

I’ll wait.
…
……
………

How many did you find?

“The only thing that ever sat its way to success was a hen.” ~ Sarah Brown

By finding imaginative verbs to replace most instances of sit in all its forms, you’ll improve your writing.

Review the following sentences.

They sat in the booth.

Do you see people sitting in a restaurant booth?

They contorted themselves into the booth.

Now what do you envision? The booth might be smaller than usual, or the protagonists might have ample builds that make sitting difficult.

They collapsed into the booth.

Perhaps our protagonists haven’t eaten for hours or days, and they’re so hungry their legs won’t hold them up any longer.

They luxuriated in the booth.

Do you picture patrons taking their time, perhaps sipping on several coffees while they enjoy the ambience?

They loitered in the booth.

This could be a setup for teenagers trying the patience of a server while they occupy space that would be better utilized for a busy lunch crowd of customers who actually tip for good service.

It’s All About Motivation

Consider the woman in the graphic that accompanies this post.

Does she flop down on the seawall while she relaxes after a long hike? Does she balance on the edge while she decides whether to jump into the deep water after a nasty breakup with her fiancé?

A carefully coined phrase will clarify a scenario when viewed in context.

More Than 100 Ways to Say Sat On and Sat In

Some of the following phrases are colloquial. Select them only if appropriate. Better yet, invent something that might become the colloquialism of next year.

B
balanced on the edge of
basked in/on
bestrode
bowled oneself into/onto
burrowed into/onto
buried oneself in/on

C
catnapped in/on
chilled out in/on
collapsed into/onto
colonized
cowered in/on
cozied up to
crumpled into/onto
curled up in/on

D
dawdled in/on
dissolved into/onto
dived/dove into/onto
draped oneself over
drooped into/onto
dropped into/onto
drove into/onto

E
embedded oneself in/on
ensconced oneself in/on
enthroned oneself in/on
entrenched oneself in/on

F
fell into/onto
flipped into/onto
flopped down in/on
flopped into/onto
flung oneself into/onto
futzed around in/on

G
grafted oneself into/onto
grabbed a seat/chair

H
heaved oneself into/onto
hung in/on
hung over
huddled in/on
hunkered down in/on
hurled oneself into/onto
hurtled oneself into/onto

I
idled in/on
immersed oneself in/on
implanted oneself in/on
installed oneself in/on

K
keeled over into/onto

L
lay back in/on
lazed in/on
leaned back in/on
lingered in/on
loafed in/on
lodged oneself in/on
loitered in/on
lolled in/on
lollygagged in/on
lounged in/on
lowered oneself into/onto
luxuriated in/on

M
melted into/onto

N
napped in/on
nestled in/on
nuzzled in/on

O
occupied a seat/chair

P
parked oneself in/on
perched on the edge of
pitched into/onto
poised on the edge of
positioned oneself in/on
planted oneself in/on
plonked down onto
plopped down onto
plummeted into/onto
plunked oneself into/onto
propelled oneself into/onto
propped oneself on
put down roots in/on
put one’s feet up

R
relaxed in/on
remained in/on
reclined in/on
reposed in/on
rested in/on
roosted in/on
rooted oneself in/on

S
settled into/onto
sagged into/onto
sank into/onto
seized a seat/chair
settled into/onto
skulked in/on
slept in/on
slouched into/onto
slumped into/onto
snoozed in/on
sprawled out in/on
squatted on the edge of
squeezed into/onto
stationed oneself in/on
straddled
stretched out in/on
submerged in/on
swooned into/onto

T
tarried in/on
threw oneself into/onto
took a load off
took a pew
took a seat
took the weight off
tucked into/onto
tumbled into/onto
tunneled into/onto

U
unwound in/on

V
vegged in/on

W
waited in/on
wilted into