Which words do YOU overuse in your writing?

doodle

Mine are:
really
very
quite
just
- the usual sins! I am aware of the problem but just can't quite seem to stop myself and I really don't know the answer and I find it very annoying!

Also, when I'm in the zone and the writing is flowing, my spelling goes completely to mush. It's not a big problem as spelling is one of my strong points and can be corrected when I'm in my calm (!) editing mode but does this happen to anyone else?

snailmale

I overuse words as a matter of course, using six when one will do. I'm huge on adjectives as well and have to trawl thorough my stuff, ruthlessly booting them in to touch, and then have to stop them crawling back in when I rewrite. A nice lady in my writing group once said of my writing, ' you get a lot of words for your money ,' and I think that's probably the best criticism I've ever had

heather

I have a big but problem :)

Carol

A Well problem...:)

dora

I could well do without

THAT

thank you very much

dora

One that gets my goat is

HAD

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

ana s

Look and looked. Always trying to find ways of conveying how someone's feeling when writing 3rd person without saying how they looked.

DeneBebbo

I have a checklist for when editing and one of the things on it is a list of words to not overuse.

Rosalie

Brackets are my problem. I love brackets. I have banned myself from using them (or almost).

Red

Almost every word has the potential to become overused, so editing is paramount to weed them out. The one I am most strict with is 'was'. It rarely appears in my narrative, unless via context.

Eddisbury

And and but but but is more intrusive than and.

Jay Mandal

Just just.

Jay Mandal

And probably.

Jay Mandal

My editor noticed "probably". I'd changed one of the character's names. It would have been OK if I'd used the 'match case' facility. It was the default on our old computer/software, but Mr Gates had made it an option on our new computer/software and I didn't notice. Then my editor came across pandyably, pandylem and wardandye. :)

red-lucy

'However' seems to creep up on me so I make the effort to get rid of the excess-however I sometimes find this difficult boom boom ;)

kado

[quote=Red]The one I am most strict with is 'was'.[/quote]

I agree with you about the over use of ‘was’. An author billed as a ‘No. 1 Bestselling Writer’ used the word eight times, in a 110 word paragraph, in one of his/her recent novels.
I WAS not impressed.

Rosalie

I rather like 'pandyably', Jay.

Red

[quote=kado]I agree with you about the over use of ‘was’. An author billed as a ‘No. 1 Bestselling Writer’ used the word eight times, in a 110 word paragraph, in one of his/her recent novels.
I WAS not impressed[/quote]

Then said writer doesn't deserve the honour of 'No 1 Bestselling Writer.' Not if he or she makes schoolboy errors like that.

dora

But what if 'No 1 Bestselling Writer' was a schoolboy who makes errors?

Lizy

Then :(

Webbo

Since we're in the right mood, "No 1 Bestselling" strikes me as a tautological error too. Either "Number 1" or "Bestselling", but surely superlative "Best" has to be number 1. I'm lobbying for "No 1 well-selling author"

Carol

Or,' the Ultimate (insert genre here) author'...:)

kado

Or even, 'No 1 Bestselling Writer of Tautology!'

Webbo

Better still, 'No 1 Bestselling Writer of Repetitive Tautology!'

Carol

:D

Vijay

And, but I can cut it out on the second draft.
The, creeps in silently.
Was, requires more work and I need to get stricter with it somehow.

LilyC

[quote=Red]The one I am most strict with is 'was'.[/quote]
It's true - I always think RED when I use the word 'was'. Sometimes it's essential but hell, since becoming a co-editor at Thrillers Killers 'n' Chillers it's become one of the 'killers' that makes me reject a story - slows it down no end.

My personal failure is 'just'.

pbw

[quote=ana s]without saying how they looked. [/quote]
I agree that's a tricky one.

I had to do a search on the word 'call' for a particular editing purpose and I discovered that my characters spend an enormous amount of time on their mobiles. It's surprising they get anything else done, tbh. Ho hum.

[quote=Webbo] I'm lobbying for "No 1 well-selling author" [/quote] Love that. :) I suppose what they MEANT to say was "No 1. author of best-sellers."
And there's the nitty gritty, if you can express exactly what you want to say in accurate and brilliant language, as in

"The robot bulked dimly in the night, its eyes a dull red glow." (Isaac Asimov, The Naked Sun)

then you too, can be a [quote=Red]No. 1 Bestselling Writer[/quote]

kado

At the moment I over use 'WAS'; I am editing a 500 word flash and have found five. I have now got rid of four, but the last one is proving difficult.

Anna

Not a word, but I'm addicted to ;

I know it's said to be a cop-out and I should use either a comma or a full stop but there are times when only a semi colon will do. A hyphen just doesn't do the job.

Any advice?

pbw

Okay, there's a great section on this in James Scott Bell's Revision & Self-Editing

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Revision-Self-Editing-Techniques-Transforming-Finished/dp/1582975086

If you haven't got the budget to buy it, you could see if your local library can get it for you.

He says, the ; is used to connect two associated sentences and gives the writer an alternative to always using a full stop, so if for example you have a string of short sentences, which can sound very staccato, you can vary the pace of your writing. Let's think of an example.

I checked the weather report. It forecast rain. I took my umbrella.

I checked the weather report; it forecast rain, so I took my umbrella.

I hope that is a good example. Other people on the forum are better grammarians than I am.

Red

Oh yeah, another one that irks me is 'there'. Which is usually followed by my most hated word, 'was'. There was this. There was that. There were four people...blah blah. While it can't be totally avoided, it's a word within description that isn't actually required. The more the word 'there' occurs, the more telling you are doing, albeing inadvertently.

Baggy Books

[quote=paperbackwriter]Okay, there's a great section on this in James Scott Bell's Revision & Self-Editing[/quote]

I won that book last year. Can't remember what I did, but it was for a piece of fiction. I don't write fiction usually but it was worth the effort. That book is the best I've read on writing - not that I've read that many. It's clear, doesn't patronise and is written by a successful writer.

Stan2

This is an interesting thread.

pbw

Well done Bags, for bagging the prize! I have several of his, I adore him. I'm currently studying his Plot and Structure as I endeavour to conjure a new plot for book two.

Lou Treleaven

I love a semi-colon and why not? Be proud; I know I am!

Lou Treleaven

I probably overuse the word looked, because my characters are always looking at each other and I run out of alternatives, eg glancing, sneaking a sideways glimpse, etc.

Chippy

Ok so it's not a word I overuse but I do seem to have an obsession with rooms that go quiet all except for a ticking clock.

Guffyowl

UNtil I read this thread, and took a quick look at my current project i didnt realise how often I used the word there. I have gone back and removed nearly all of them and it read better now, Thank you

Mrs Bear

I overuse 'maybe'.