Editor Time: Overused words or That But story

my work

First…please forgive me, my authors, as you may see your favourite overused word habit appear. Trust me, I do it, too. Yes, I’m crossing my fingers I catch them here today in this posting 😉

We all have that one, two…five…word(s) which keep creeping into our story. We don’t even see them. Their our subconscious’ minions.

Vocally, I overuse the word ‘actually’. It is out of my mouth before I have a chance to lock it away.

Vocally, we all use the word ‘that’ as a filler. It’s not needed so much in our writing. Stories don’t need fillers. Once you read the sentence without it you’ll notice a strengthening of the line. Once you start see the word you can’t unsee it.

Same goes for ‘but’ this pesky little guy isn’t so much a filler as a combiner, after thought. Think…oh this, that, the other thing, then this and that again. BUT, don’t forget to include this too, but then something else happened.

A few of these PITA words are…oh that’s “pain in the arse” BTW:

that, but, like, which, just, then, about, very, as if, as though, suddenly, seem

What I suggest is highlight each word via a new colour with your find and replace feature. You could end up shocking yourself.

Now this does not mean to never use these words. Just watch the when, how, why of them.

(I hear one of my teachers now…one sentence does not make a paragraph) But this is important.

Overused words can be a character’s habit. A distinct trait which sets them apart. However, be aware of characters having the same habit. Of characters different ages having the same word choices. I’m thinking “valley girls” and their love of ‘like’ not sure that crossed age lines.

Something else to keep in mind…what’s the most common phrasing for the time and area of your story’s placement? Is it spelled correctly? Y’all, ya’ll, yall?

Hmm, are there words more commonly used by gender lines?

Confused? Just remember that one simple rule…

…As with all writing…nothing’s written in stone.

Keep writing!