Every writer probably has a group of words they tend to overuse in their writing. And that group could be large or small. Me? I seem to use God and f$%k a lot in each of my first drafts. Yeah, interesting combination, right? And then I have what I call "local" overused words, or words that are overused only for a particular book. I blame my characters for it.
Totally. When I write, the characters become very real, actually they
are real to me. As such, they have specific mannerisms, ways of thinking, moving and talking. I tend to write the book so a phrase or words that are very character specific end up being used a lot. My current manuscript? Nix. I seem to be using that a lot. "he nixed that idea" or "nix that". LOL. It fits with the tough, aggressive, in-your-face feel of my hero, but it's something to watch out for.
I'm always surprised to read a published book and pick up on them because I spend a great deal of time during the editing process to ensure readers wouldn't be aware of this issue. I recently read a book where the heroine's eye color was mentioned so often, it pulled me completely out of the story. The hero was always gazing into her "violet hued eyes". It kinda ruined the mood for me in several scenes.
As a reader, have you ever noticed a book that had overused words or perhaps a phrase? What were they? If you're a writer, what words do you have to watch yourself with :)?
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I use those two words a lot too. I also use the phrase, "to be honest" too much! :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, Amber. Can't say I use that one.
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to break my 'ly' habit. Only, Fortunately, actually, etc. And I use 'as' too often. This current MS I'm editing, I used 'pressed' three times in two paragraphs. Sheesh!
ReplyDeleteMolly, I'm pretty good with the 'ly' words, but I think I use 'it' a lot as well :).
ReplyDeleteLOL on 'nix'. At least that one's original ;). I use 'God' a lot too, and 'well', 'okay'. I think it's because people around me use them a lot in casual conversation, but words stand out/register differently in print so I have to edit them out. It's always fun to see what words other writers over use.
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