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Jennifer's list of forbidden words
Last week, I blogged about not following the rules. Today, I’m
going to tell you about one of the rules I actually DO follow. It’s a list of
commonly overused words. Now, some writers will say you can NEVER use ANY of
these words in your manuscript—EVER!!!!! I, being the rule-breaker I am, say
you most definitely can, but with restraint.
When I edit, one of the first things I do is go through my
manuscript and search for overused words. I examine the sentences and
paragraphs and decide if the word should be there or if I can rewrite the
sentence to be stronger without the word. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can’t.
I recently looked for my list of words and couldn’t find it.
But at the writer’s conference, one of the workshops provided us with the list
again. So, I’m reprinting that list here:
Almost
Back
Began
By
Down
Even
Eyes
Felt
Grin
Had
Head
Heard
Just
Knew
Laugh
Nearly
Perhaps
Quite
Rather
Really
Saw
Shoulders
Shrug
Smelled
Smile
So
Suddenly
That
Then
Up
Very
-ly
-ing
Again, use this list with a grain of salt. Not every single
one has to be eliminated. I certainly won’t tell!
It's hard not to use eyes and shoulders in a romance.
ReplyDeleteI am guilty of wnating to use 'then' a lot.
Yes, Ana, it is. I think "shoulders" and "shrug" go together and the point is to find a different mannerism if possible. And people have body parts other than eyes that can be described. :) But again, the list is a suggestion, not a hard and fast rule that can't be bent a bit.
ReplyDeleteHow can you never use "eyes". Really? Ever?
ReplyDeleteLike I said, Wendy, not all of these are absolutely forbidden. I personally use "eyes" in my manuscript--but there are other times that you can use "gaze" or other words that might make it better. Again, large grain of salt! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with trying to avoid the overuse of many of these words. 'Overuse' is the important word here. It's ridiculous for some pundits to say you can never use them! That would only lead to an overuse of synonyms. Sometimes a simple 'He smiled' is perfectly adequate, rather than some convoluted description of his facial expression. I can often spot the times when a writer has tried too hard to avoid some supposedly 'forbidden' word.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you completely, Paula!
ReplyDelete"Eyes" as a verb? That I could skip. "Eyes" as a noun? That would be impossible not to use.
ReplyDeleteI am definitely guilty of using then quite often. One of the first searches I do is to find all the times I use 'that' and eliminate as many of them as I can. And felt is one of those telling instead of showing words. It can really pull the reader out of the POV of your characters.
ReplyDeleteGreat list...a
Great list Paula - thanks! I am relentless with the word "that" in my writing. 99.9% of the times it's out!
ReplyDelete