It has been a few weeks since handing over my manuscript to my amazingly awesome editor.
This is my first real experience working with an editor and I can tell you first hand, it's a lot of work but so incredibly worth the investment. Before I sent over my work, I ran my manuscript through ProWritingAid to help me find any contingencies as far as repetitive words, flow, sentence structure, etc. It has been a pretty amazing tool and one I was happy to invest in (I will have to write a full post on ProWritingAid to share my experience). Even with running it through this program, there were a lot of words that were overused in my draft that I failed to notice. This just proves that you can have all the best writing tools technology can offer, but nothing is more beneficial to your work than the human eye.
Here are a few of the words I tend to use too much and why you shouldn't.
1. Like - Like this, Like that, like , like, like. Like is one of those words you use to describe a feeling, person or whatever you are trying to describe. The last decade or so has engrained this word into common vernacular, sometimes we don't realize we are using it 10x in a single paragraph. But that one piece of advice writers & editors will tell you 100x still stands: show don't tell.
Here is an example:
Before, sarcasm was like a second language to us, but it didn't seem like that anymore.
the easiest way, I found, to remedy the amount of likes in my manuscript, is to incorporate these comparisons, feelings, etc. in your character dialogue:
Donna shuttered nervously. "All these people are making me nauseous."
"Because they're repulsive or-"
"Shut up, you know what I mean." She pushed me away, a little more forcibly than usual.
I squinted behind my glasses as I rubbed my arm, "What was that for?"
"Everything is a joke to you." She said sharply, "You don't take anything seriously."
2. Just - Just like this (see what I did there 😂), everything just, just, just, just because. This is a word that, I've found, you never really need, except maybe in dialogue. If you find yourself using just an excessive amount of time, try taking it out of the sentence and see what happens.
Like this:
I just can't take this anymore, not any of it. It's just too much for me to wrap my head around and just comprehend on an adult level.
I can't take this anymore, not any of it. It's too much for me to wrap my head around and comprehend on an adult level.
See! Doesn't the second sentence flow so much better than the first?
3. Almost - almost alway, almost time, almost like (what! two overused words in one? 😬). Almost is another of those words that you need to use sparingly or not at all. My editor noted how often I use it and challenged me not to. It's incredible how not using it has made my writing flow so much better. Here is another example: Standing this close to her, she smelled almost spearminty, like she was chewing really strong gum. I almost never even looked at her in that way, or looked at her period, until now. Standing this close to her, she smelled spearminty, like she was chewing really strong gum. I never even looked at her in that way, or looked at her period, until now.
Another instance of a smoother flow of words 👍
So, even if you think you have cleaned up all those overused words, have a second, third and even fourth pair of eyes look over your work. Even reading aloud, I did not pick up on all the times I used these. I know with experience in writing for publication, finding these words will be a lot easier, but for now, it is still a work in progress.
Until next time readers, stay classy 😉
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