hope your resolutions are holding firm!
In my effort to provide more practical "yes do this" advice, instead of "oh please, not that", I offer this help on the overuse of words.
Overused words are exactly like a cute colour combination. They work in small amounts, like blue and green together on my scissors. (I am a sucker for stationery).
If not watched, that cute word can appear in too many places and become obnoxious. It will eat your manuscript from the inside and weaken it.
It's jaw-droppingly bad, innit? It doesn't show up so well in the pic, but they've also painted the guttering and the portico in the same tones.
Was there nobody sane to stop them?
So, how do you stop the word equivalent of cute blue and green stationery becoming a blot on your manuscript landscape? Cute words like "tickle" and "gaze" and "yearned"?
1: Reading your manuscript out loud will force you to slow down and actually hear the words in your book. I don't just spout this stuff, I actually do it. It takes about five times as long as reading it in my head, but, wowsa, I spot some clunkers.
2: Crit partners - they can read the pages with fresh eyes and spot repetition.
3: Groovy apps that show you which words appear the most in your script. Wordle makes a gorgeous word cloud - which showed me I was overusing "felt", "seem" and "seemed". To me, these words slowed the pace. What works best: "Ma seemed to take control" or "Ma took control" ? The words I'd overused were slowing the pace and making the actions too passive.
Here's the word cloud so far for the next novel. I don't think I'm giving anything away by showing Ondine and Hamish are front and centre. PS, I haven't overused Melody for "tune", it's a character's name.
Whatever your writing goals for 2012, may your writing flow.
6 comments:
Ah yes, we all have our favorite words that we just can't seem to get away from. There I used two of mine in one sentence. ;) Reading aloud helps me a lot, as do my CPs. Great reminder, and suggestions!
Lol Heather, it just seems that way sometimes, tee hee.
Crit partners are the very best, aren't they? I'd be lost without mine.
Have a sensational 2012.
This is awesome! I love Wordle. I also feel like I've done well when the characters names are the biggest. One of my worst words? LIKE. Ugh. I'm also a sucker for seemed and felt.
Oh Lisa, 'Like' is like, so 2009, hehehee.
Like shows up a bit in my word cloud as well, (under the second h in Hamish) so I'll keep an eye out for it on the next read through!
Such great advice. I'm a sucker for "so." It makes me crazy. Somehow I haven't heard of Wordle, SO, thank you for this! : )
Thank you Cynthia,
I'm a sucker for a 'So' to start the dialogue . . .
'So, where do we go from here?'
'Well . . . '
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