Author Liesel K. Hill's Musings on Fantasia...
Showing posts with label crutch words. Show all posts
Showing posts with label crutch words. Show all posts
Monday, January 15, 2018
Ax Those Crutch Words: BUT
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Good morning, lovely readers! Welcome to my series on crutch words and passive voice, as I know this is something we all struggle with.
If you've ever read your writing and thought it sounded sub-par or unprofessional, but just didn't know how to fix it, chances are you're leaning on crutch words or using passive voice. I'll show you how to fix that.
The truth is that writers don't have enough of a science behind fixing this sort of thing. Sure, most of the really great writers out there stay away from crutch words and passive voice, but most of that is instinctual for them, after a lot of hours of writing and learning and honing.
Even most other authors you'll find may be able to tell you that something is lacking in your writing, but even they may not know exactly what it is or how to fix it. Or even if they can pinpoint it, it's hard for them (for any of us) to give actual, definable steps toward fixing our weak writing.
Saying, "Do it better," really doesn't help much. Especially newbie writers who really want to write better, but simply don't know how.
Here's where I'll start giving tips to help you out with this. Because there are many MANY offenders when it comes to crutch words, and they nearly always lead to passive voice. So if you cut out your crutch words, 99% of the passive voice in your writing automatically goes away. Isn't that amazing? And you get the added benefit of tighter, more grounded writing. The kind readers love to read and publishers love to publish.
Today's offender: BUT
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Good morning, lovely readers! Welcome to my series on crutch words and passive voice, as I know this is something we all struggle with.
"She wanted to help, but didn't know how."
I use this format in my writing a lot. I compare two things and separate the clauses with the word
"but." It's certainly not a bad thing. Especially if you don't do it
and need a way to change up your sentence structure, try it. But (hehe) I do it
too much. I also start too many
sentences with the word "But."
So for this, I go through and read each "but." If
I can separate the two clauses into two sentences without changing the meaning,
I do. If the "but" must be there, and I can't find any other way to say what I
want, then I leave it. Again, I find I can always get rid of most instances of
this without changing the story at all. At least, I can easily get down to the
1% rule.
Example 1: It felt cowardly, but confronting him would have
to wait.
The Fix: It felt cowardly. Yet
confronting him would have to wait.
Example 2: He needed to
get in line, but tied his shoe first.
The Fix: He needed to
get in line. He tied his shoe first.
(Of course, you should change up your sentence structure
here as well, so it doesn’t feel so repetitive. You get my drift, though.)
Last Resort Synonyms:
1. And - "But" should
only be used if differentiating something. Showing how something is different
than what you said in the first clause. Often it's interchangeable with
"and."
Example 1: He went to
the store but couldn't find what he needed.
The Fix: He went to the
store and couldn't find what he needed.
2. Except - This works in a case where
"but" is being used to show a remnant of something.
Example 2: He took all
the cookies but one.
The Fix: He took all the
cookies except one.
Again, these are "last resort" because you're
substituting one filler word for another, even if the one you swap for isn't a
crutch for you. Use with caution.
Check out Ax Those Crutch Words: Part 1: Was and Part 2: Had.
Also, check out my other books at: www.authorlkhill.com.
How about you? Is HAD a culprit in your writing?
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
Ax Those Crutch Words: HAD
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If you've ever read your writing and thought it sounded sub-par or unprofessional, but just didn't know how to fix it, chances are you're leaning on crutch words or using passive voice. I'll show you how to fix that.
The truth is that writers don't have enough of a science behind fixing this sort of thing. Sure, most of the really great writers out there stay away from crutch words and passive voice, but most of that is instinctual for them, after a lot of hours of writing and learning and honing.
Even most other authors you'll find may be able to tell you that something is lacking in your writing, but even they may not know exactly what it is or how to fix it. Or even if they can pinpoint it, it's hard for them (for any of us) to give actual, definable steps toward fixing our weak writing.
Saying, "Do it better," really doesn't help much. Especially newbie writers who really want to write better, but simply don't know how.
Here's where I'll start giving tips to help you out with this. Because there are many MANY offenders when it comes to crutch words, and they nearly always lead to passive voice. So if you cut out your crutch words, 99% of the passive voice in your writing automatically goes away. Isn't that amazing? And you get the added benefit of tighter, more grounded writing. The kind readers love to read and publishers love to publish.
Today's offender: HAD
1. Get rid of multiple past tense instances. "Had" shows up the most when you're
writing in past tense. "She had gone downstairs to find her shoes."
The thing is, you only need one instance of "had" to show you're
talking about something from the past. After the first instance, you can use
regular past tense. Observe the difference:
"She had
gone downstairs to look for her shoes. She had
gone into the bathroom. They weren't there. She had
then gone into her room, and had searched
every nook and cranny. Not finding them, she had
gone back upstairs to search the living room."
See how many "hads" there are? It becomes a
headache. Now let's take out those crutch words, leaving in only the first
instance to establish past tense.
"She had gone downstairs to look for her shoes. She
searched in the bathroom. They weren't there. She went into her room, searching
every nook and cranny. Not finding them, she went back upstairs to search the
living room."
See the difference?
2. Cut Filler. If
it makes sense without the "had," get rid of it. If the sentence only
makes sense with the had, then obviously keep it. I find that 50% of my hads
are filler and can be cut without affecting the sentence in the least.
Example 1: “Who’s Gabe?”
Jane had
demanded.
The Fix: “Who’s Gabe?”
Jane demanded.
Example 2: The phone
screen had
shown the number clearly.
The Fix: The phone
screen showed the number clearly.
Example 3: She had not
gotten any groceries.
The Fix: She didn't get
any groceries.
Example 4: He had come
to see the game.
The Fix: He came to see
the game.
Example 5: They had to
be mistaken.
The Fix: They must be
mistaken.
Example 6: She'd had to
learn the spell.
The Fix: She'd learned
the spell.
Check out my other books at: www.authorlkhill.com.
How about you? Is HAD a culprit in your writing?
Monday, December 18, 2017
Ax Those Crutchwords! The Worst Offender: Was
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If you've ever read your writing and thought it sounded sub-par or unprofessional, but just didn't know how to fix it, chances are you're leaning on crutch words or using passive voice. I'll show you how to fix that.
The truth is that writers don't have enough of a science behind fixing this sort of thing. Sure, most of the really great writers out there stay away from crutch words and passive voice, but most of that is instinctual for them, after a lot of hours of writing and learning and honing.
Even most other authors you'll find may be able to tell you that something is lacking in your writing, but even they may not know exactly what it is or how to fix it. Or even if they can pinpoint it, it's hard for them (for any of us) to give actual, definable steps toward fixing our weak writing.
Saying, "Do it better," really doesn't help much. Especially newbie writers who really want to write better, but simply don't know how.
Here's where I'll start giving tips to help you out with this. Because there are many MANY offenders when it comes to crutch words, and they nearly always lead to passive voice. So if you cut out your crutch words, 99% of the passive voice in your writing automatically goes away. Isn't that amazing? And you get the added benefit of tighter, more grounded writing. The kind readers love to read and publishers love to publish.
We'll start with what I consider the worst offender of them all: WAS
Was is a word that is an integral part of the English language. You can't write a book without using the word was a few hundred times. It would be impossible.
There are many sentences in which the word is absolutely necessary, and that's fine. But this pesky little 3-letter word often makes its way into sentences where it doesn't belong, and serves absolutely no purpose, except perhaps to remove the reader a bit from the action, and that's never good.
Because was is such a huge problem in our writing, it can be used wrong in MANY ways. Below are some fixes for the most common over-uses I've found:
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
32 Crutch Words to Slice and Dice from Your Writing
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So, what is a crutch word, you ask?
It's a word (phrases count too) that any given author uses a lot. Too much, really. We use them in everyday speech as well. Words like, "like," "to be honest," "actually," etc. They're words and phrases that are used so often as crutches or place holders, that they really don't mean anything at all anymore.
And while they probably aren't AS meaningless in your writing as they are in our everyday speech, what it really comes down to is that they don't add anything in the sentence. And that's my rule of thumb while editing: if I can cut the word and the sentence still makes sense, then I do.
There are exceptions of course, especially with particular character dialogue. Maybe you want them to over-talk so sound less educated or as part of their character. Totally cool if you do. As always, cutting these words is the author's choice.
So I've made it a habit, now, when I'm editing a chapter, to edit for crutch words. The easiest way I've found is to use Word's "Find" function (or whatever program and search function you use) to find and change them on a case by case basis.
Is it tedious? Yeah, definitely. But as with all things, it just takes practice. At first it will feel like the embodiment of why hell is full of unedited first drafts, but I've gotten to a point where I can do it quite cheerfully.
And how do I pull that off? Because like all editing, it's a way to make my writing better, stronger, and more readable. And I enjoy that. Not only that, but you know the rule about writing a first draft and then tightening/cutting by 10%? Editing for crutch words will often do that for you automatically. I'll give examples below so you can see.
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All right. So here is my list of crutch words. Yes, I really do edit every chapter for every one of these. But I'm getting better at it. Once you start noticing and editing for them, you'll unconsciously use them less in your writing, which will make the editing easier anyway. Also, remember that while these will apply to MANY writers out there, each writer has their own unique crutch words as well. So maybe some of these don't apply to you. And probably you have a few that don't apply to me. Isn't variation wonderful!?! ;D
Crutch Words to Edit For:
Because they're used WAY too often and we need to find stronger ways to describe things. Also to stay away from passive voice (was walking, were talking, etc.):
- was
- but
- were
- that
- had
Because 99%+ of the time, you can cut them and your writing will be stronger by leaps and bounds (these are the ones that usually mean absolutely nothing in the sentence):
- just
- really
- especially
- suddenly
- finally
- a bit
- for a moment
- very
- even
- might
- looked
- almost
- probably
Because in writing, you either do something or you don't do it. Something is or it isn't. No half-measures:
- seemed
- began/started
- tried/managed
To avoid telling:
- looked
- realized
- knew
- saw
- heard
- smelled
- tasted
- felt
Also look out for
- reflexives: "my own," "himself," "herself," "itself,"etc.
- transitional overuses: "then," "and" or "but" at the beginning or in the middle of sentences, etc.
- prepositional phrases, especially at the beginning of sentences; they tend to convey information you've already conveyed elsewhere: "before the concert..." "on the way to the market..." "while she brushed her teeth..."
I know this is a lot, but if you get in the habit of editing your crutch words, your writing will be MUCH stronger. It also gives you a great deal of self-awareness as a writer, which is empowering. And that can only be a good thing. ;D
What are YOUR crutch words?
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