Charted At or Bolted At?

[Tawariell]

Is 'charted at' a thing that other writers use, or did I somehow make this up myself?

For example; I charted at him and swung the blade at his legs, but he deflected my attack with such ease that it made him laugh even harder.

Someone was reading through my chapter and pointed this out, himself not sure either whether this is a thing or not. Perhaps I've started making up my own verbs now... :')

Should I change it to 'I bolted at him', or is 'I charted at him' fine? *so confused*

 

[Mouse]

Charged?

I charged at him.

 

[Ursa major]

I can't say I've ever heard of "chart at", except in the context of a popular song (but that may be due to my ignorance).

As for bolted... that suggests running away from (rather than running towards) something, and I'm not sure adding the "at" is sufficient to overcome this.

 

[AllanR]

I've never heard the word used except as part of a document.. I looked at two dictionaries and saw nothing regarding the action that fits with bolted. (I charted the players progression, I charted it on the map. My book charted at 5th)

 

[The Judge]

I think Mouse has it, that you've confused it with "charged at" which does fit with the idea of attacking someone. However, it's best to use it if the parties aren't too close, since there's an implication of some distance being crossed -- an army charges at the enemy, for instance, or a bull charges at careless hikers. If they're within spitting distance, and especially as the POV character aims low, "lunged at" is probably better.

And I agree with Ursa, that "bolted" in this context means running away or escaping from something, even when that something isn't named eg "I bolted home" implies something has frightened or upset me and I'm rushing away from it very quickly.

 

[Tawariell]

Charged?

I charged at him.

Wait... I think you are right. Somehow I ended up making it "charted"... heh, silly me!

 

[Tawariell]

I've never heard the word used except as part of a document.. I looked at two dictionaries and saw nothing regarding the action that fits with bolted. (I charted the players progression, I charted it on the map. My book charted at 5th)

Exactly what I deed. I tried looking it up in some dictionaries and got confused. How did I ever come to this word? :')

 

[Tawariell]

I think Mouse has it, that you've confused it with "charged at" which does fit with the idea of attacking someone. However, it's best to use it if the parties aren't too close, since there's an implication of some distance being crossed -- an army charges at the enemy, for instance, or a bull charges at careless hikers. If they're within spitting distance, and especially as the POV character aims low, "lunged at" is probably better.

And I agree with Ursa, that "bolted" in this context means running away or escaping from something, even when that something isn't named eg "I bolted home" implies something has frightened or upset me and I'm rushing away from it very quickly.

I am sure Mouse is right! Somehow I got it confused. Thank you guys for helping me clear that up!

As for it's use... the protagonist is close to the person she is "charging at", but in this situation, she is angry at him. You'd still think "lunged at" would be more appropriate?

 

[Toby Frost]

For me, "charging" means running, while lunging is basically punching or grabbing at someone, whether with a weapon or not. You could lunge without running.

 

[The Judge]

Yep, if they're closer than about 10 feet away I wouldn't use "charged" at all. "Lunged" usually implies reaching forward without moving one's feet, but it would include taking a step or two, but no more than that, but it's certainly applicable to angry movement

There are alternatives depending on exactly how you see the POV character moving:

• "sprang at" implies a distance of a few feet, but also a distinct jumping/leaping action which wouldn't sit so well with hacking at his legs, and the same would go for "leapt on" and the like
• "pounced on" is another one for a few feet, but that's more a cat-like aggressor against a victim, and again doesn't really work with attacking legs
• "rushed him" is one that to me implies more distance and doesn't feel so aggressive
• "surged forward" is a good one, going well with anger, but again implies a good distance between them to get the surge going
• "lurched towards" is one that's kind of medium distance, but its an uncontrolled movement through eg drunkenness or poor co-ordination, and doesn't fit quite so well with anger
• things like cut/thrust/stabbed imply movement, but they're the actions for the sword, as it were, so can't then be used with just swinging at his legs

So overall, I can't think of a better word than "lunged" in the context you've given.

 

[Tawariell]

Yep, if they're closer than about 10 feet away I wouldn't use "charged" at all. "Lunged" usually implies reaching forward without moving one's feet, but it would include taking a step or two, but no more than that, but it's certainly applicable to angry movement

There are alternatives depending on exactly how you see the POV character moving:

• "sprang at" implies a distance of a few feet, but also a distinct jumping/leaping action which wouldn't sit so well with hacking at his legs, and the same would go for "leapt on" and the like
• "pounced on" is another one for a few feet, but that's more a cat-like aggressor against a victim, and again doesn't really work with attacking legs
• "rushed him" is one that to me implies more distance and doesn't feel so aggressive
• "surged forward" is a good one, going well with anger, but again implies a good distance between them to get the surge going
• "lurched towards" is one that's kind of medium distance, but its an uncontrolled movement through eg drunkenness or poor co-ordination, and doesn't fit quite so well with anger
• things like cut/thrust/stabbed imply movement, but they're the actions for the sword, as it were, so can't then be used with just swinging at his legs

So overall, I can't think of a better word than "lunged" in the context you've given.

Thank you for all the examples! I have to agree with you that "lunged at" would sound best in this scenario.

Everyone, thank you for brainstorming with me!

 

[Montero]

Yep, if they're closer than about 10 feet away I wouldn't use "charged" at all. "Lunged" usually implies reaching forward without moving one's feet, but it would include taking a step or two, but no more than that, but it's certainly applicable to angry movement

Interesting the idea of lunging without moving feet. As a fencer, a lunge involves a foot movement - it is actually one of the longer foot movements.

Lunge (fencing) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

(The photo is a pretty extreme lunge - I was always taught not to roll my rear foot, but heck, she is at the World Championships and I never got close..... )

And a lunge is an attack in the context.

There is also lunging a horse, which is not an attack, but I think the context will be clear.

 

[The Judge]

Ah, I was thinking of someone lunging at another across a table or something similar, principally an upper body movement, and certainly not one involving several paces. But I didn't realise it was a specific fencing movement! Even better to use it here, then.

 

[KiraAnn]

Look at your keyboard. I would guess you simply missed the “g” on your keyboard and hit the “t”. They are stacked one over the other.

 

[Rufus Coppertop]

I am sure Mouse is right! Somehow I got it confused. Thank you guys for helping me clear that up!

As for it's use... the protagonist is close to the person she is "charging at", but in this situation, she is angry at him. You'd still think "lunged at" would be more appropriate?

"Lunged at" would probably be better.