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Bad words...

First, so sorry I missed Monday's post. I promise there was good reason, which I hope to not jinx by posting about it, but let's just say it was a very pleasant surprise. :)

Now onto today's post. Today I want to talk about bad words, and I'm not talking about curse words. Curse words can actually be good words (when it comes to writing) if used selectively, and if they are appropriate for the story/MC.

For me, bad words are the words that drag down or weaken my prose. I have a list of words that I search out and destroy during revisions. Of course, some stay. My rule is that if the word is necessary to maintain voice then it stays, if it does not add to voice or the story then it's axed.

MY LIST:
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Verbs
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Was
Were
Could
Should
Would
Felt
Looked (issue when overused)
Walked (issue when overused)
Past perfect combos: had + past participle
Passive tense: verb + -ed verb (though there are other examples)
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Random Adverbs / Adjectives / Words
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Just
That
Very
Quite
Too
Not
Rather
Somewhat
Almost
Kind of
So
Which
The fact that
To be honest
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What's your list of bad words? Do you allow them occasionally or cut out altogether? Share your writing profanity. :)
M.B.

Comments

  1. Lo HughesOctober 13, 2010 at 8:56 AM

    I'm not sure if it's because of the voice my main character has taken on, but I overuse the word 'totally'. As do I 'really', 'definitely' and 'like'. I also seem to have a thing for 'eyes'. I need to use other body parts to suggest emotion other than eyes, heart, and stomach. It's so hard though! Oh, and as you know, don't get me started on 'was' :-)

    Have you ever tried this site? It's pretty handy:

    www.wordle.net

    I was in a bit of denial about my 'totally' problem, until I stumbled across it via Scott Westerfeld's blog and made my own word cloud!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Melissa WestOctober 13, 2010 at 9:14 AM

    Just created a word cloud and it seems I have issues with "eyes" as well! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Amanda C.October 13, 2010 at 10:59 AM

    Ohhhhh. "seemed" and "appeared."

    Apparently my MCs are so dense they're never sure of anything. I have to go through and make them smarter each draft. :) I love when I see things like "It seemed cold." I want to be like, "You don't know!? Either you're cold or you aren't! How can it *seem* cold!?" hehe

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kenda TurnerOctober 13, 2010 at 3:35 PM

    "now," "then," "sure," and a preponderance of
    -ing words. That's why I love the FIND search feature. Use it all the time! Great post, by the way...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Melissa WestOctober 13, 2010 at 4:34 PM

    Amanda -- LOL! I know what you mean.
    Kenda -- Yes to -ing! I have a love/hate relationship with -ing words and sure enough my descriptions are loaded with them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Karen StrongOctober 13, 2010 at 6:33 PM

    Melissa, that's a good idea using the word cloud to check the most used words.

    But ha, I already know that I LOVE using two words: "just" and "definitely" --- they are my favorites.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Andrea MackOctober 14, 2010 at 6:10 AM

    I've noticed myself using "was" a lot in the revision of my WIP, because it's MG and I'm trying to keep my sentences short. "But" is another one I overuse, but I'm watching for that one.

    ReplyDelete

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