the choice of a word...

[Rawled Demha]

hi. in response to criticism, i am in the quest for an alternative word for "incredible". and i wondered - what was the adejctive for fantasy - fantastic? fantastical? or is there none such?

 

[chrispenycate]

Well, my thesaurus gave me seventeen synonyms for "incredible" (including "fantastic")(oh, all right: absurd, amazing,astonishing, astounding, extraordinary, far-fetched, great, implausible,impossible, improbable, inconceivable, preposterous, superb,unbelievable, unimaginable, unthinkable, wonderful. I didn't say they were all good similes) or perhaps you could try chaging the "credible"

Oh, and I don't feel my critiquewas over critical; just one or two little suggestions…

 

[ray gower]

Personally I am against devaluing the meaning of words:

If it is merely highly improbable then 'Incredible' is a good word.
If it is impossible but looks good in the imagination of your story the 'Fantastic' is sound
And if it is highly improbable even in your 'Out of your tree' imagination, then think about using 'fantastical'

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I think I would be careful how I used the word incredible, simply because it can have negative connotations. As to what word to substitute in it's place ... well, there are shades of meaning to most words, and it would depend on the exact context.

Edit -- I found it in your latest story fragment for critique. Nothing wrong with your use of incredible; it's the credible/incredible combination that doesn't work; and it seems to me that it's the former you should change.

 

[Frank menser]

Not the best sub for Fantasy, but I have seen the word 'Whimsical' used referring to a light fantasy, though the word actually refers to "a humorous quirk or fancy".

~Frank