Taking the Gooblygook out of 50-cent terms

sr71plt

Literotica Guru
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(You may purposely use these in dialogue to give personality to a character, of course)

A Words:


a large/small number of (many/few)

accelerate (speed up)

accompanied by (with)

accordingly (therefore/so)

afford an opportunity (allow/permit)

aforementioned (these)

ahead of schedule (early)

along the lines of (like)

applicable (apply to)

are desirous of (want to)

are in receipt of (have/received)

as a result of (because)

as of this day (today)

as to (about/or leave a term out entirely)

assistance (aid/help)

at a later date (later)

at an early date (soon)

at the present time (now)

at this point in time (now)

at this time (now)

at your earliest convenience (when you can/or be specific; the request may never be convenient)

attempt (try)
 
I'll skip to the Vs and specifically "very." I had a high school English teacher who advised us on day one to avoid the use of "very."

If something is "very important," it is "vital."
If something is "very sad," it is "tragic."
If something is "very big," it is "huge."

Et cetera, and as sr71 says, I think these are fine to use in dialogue.
 
B Words/terms

beneficial aspects (benefits)

both together (together)

by means of (by)


C Words/terms

civilianize (hire civilians, privatize)

comes into conflict (conflicts)

compensate (pay)

concur (agree)

conduct an investigations (investigate)

conjecture (guess)

consequently (so)

consider faborably (approve/favor)

considerable (much)

correspondence (letter)
 
Avoid Very

I'll skip to the Vs and specifically "very." I had a high school English teacher who advised us on day one to avoid the use of "very."

If something is "very important," it is "vital."
If something is "very sad," it is "tragic."
If something is "very big," it is "huge."

Et cetera, and as sr71 says, I think these are fine to use in dialogue.

My mom was an English teacher. When she would help me edit my school papers, she would tell me to equate the word "very" with my favorite cuss word, and then, eliminate it from my essay because there is no cursing in school.
 
Especially if your character is The Brain

(You may purposely use these in dialogue to give personality to a character, of course)

A Words:


a large/small number of (many/few)

accelerate (speed up)

accompanied by (with)

accordingly (therefore/so)

afford an opportunity (allow/permit)

aforementioned (these)

ahead of schedule (early)

along the lines of (like)

applicable (apply to)

are desirous of (want to)

are in receipt of (have/received)

as a result of (because)

as of this day (today)

as to (about/or leave a term out entirely)

assistance (aid/help)

at a later date (later)

at an early date (soon)

at the present time (now)

at this point in time (now)

at this time (now)

at your earliest convenience (when you can/or be specific; the request may never be convenient)

attempt (try)

My favorite pedantic character is The Brain from the cartoon PINKY AND THE BRAIN. My favorite The Brain quote is "I feel the need, I feel the need for expeditious acceleration." My first car used to have a bumper sticker that said that. I got stopped a lot for warnings, but I never seemed to get a ticket.
 
D Words:

deferral (delay)

demonstrate (show)

despite the fact that (although)

destroyed by fire (burned)

detrimental (harmful)

draw your attention to (show/point out)

due to the fact that (because/since) (Publishing note: U.S. publishers tend to want "due" used only for the owing of money)

during the course of (during)

during the time that (as/while)
 
E Words:

effect an improvement (improve)

endeavor (try)

endeavor to ascertain (try to find out)

excessive (too much)
 
F Words:

fabricate (build/make)

facilitate (help/ease)

for the most part (mainly/mostly)

for the purpose of (to/for)

for the reason that (because/since)

foregoing (this/these)

from the point of view of (for)

from the viewpoint of (as--or rewrite)

fullest possible extent (as much as you can--or just elminated the phrase)

furthermore (also)
 
G and H Words:

give consideration to (consider)

give rise to (cause)


had occasion to be (was)

have need for (need)

totally lacked the ability to (couldn't)
 
I Words:

implement (do/carry out)

in a number of cases (some)

in a position to (can/has/have)

in a satisfactory manner (satisfactorily)

in a time manner (early/soon/on time/promptly)

in advance of (before)

in agreement with (agree)

in close proximity to (near)

in compliance with your request (as requested)

in connection with (about)

in excess of (exceed)

in large measure (largely)

in order for (for/to)

in order that (so)

in order to (to) [All forms of "in order" are pretty much word padding that can go away.]

in regard (relation) to (near/about)

in the absence of (without)

in the amount of (for)

in the case of ( if)

in the course of (during)

in the event that (if)

in the possession of (has/have)

in the nature of (like)

in the near future (soon)

in the neighborhood of (near/about)

in the very near future (soon)

in view of the fact that (because) [the "in fact" phrase is one that almost always should be deleted. One person's fact is another person's speculation]

inasmuchas (because/since)

indebtedness (debt)

indicate (show)

individual (person/man/woman)

initial (first)

it is recommended that consideration be given to (we recommend that)
 
J, K, L Words:

I have nothing in my notes of these. Others have any?


M and N Words:

make a determination of (determine)

make an adjustment in (adjust)

make a provision for (provide)

make the assumption that (assume)

make use of (use)

magnitude (size)

maximum quantity (most)

minimum quantity (least)


necessitate (need)

not in a position to (unable/can't)

numerous (many)
 
N Words:

necessitate (need)

not in a position to (unable/can't)

numerous (many)
 
O Words:

objective (fair/goal)

obligation (debt)

of such difficulty (so difficult)

on a continuous basis (continuously)

on a few occasions (occasionally)

on a regular basis (regularly)

on a theoretical level (in theory)

on behalf of (for)

on the basis of (by)

on the grounds that (since/because)

on the part of (for/by/among)

on the occasion of (when)

on two separate occasions (twice)

optimum (best)

owing to the fact that (since/because)
 
P Words:

placed under arrest (arrested)

possesses (has/owns)

prior to (before. U.S. publishers really, really don't like to see "prior to")

prioritize (set priorities)

proceeded to take (took)

provided that (if)

promulgate (issue/publish/distribute)

purchase (buy)

punctual (on time)

pursuant (under)

pursuant to our agreement (as we agreed)

put in an appearance (appeared)
 
Q Words:

quadroon

qualm

quantum

quarantine

quarrel

quaver

quay (what you might want to spell as "key")

queasy

quizzed
 
R Words:


referred to as (called)

remainder (rest)

retain position as (remain)
 
S Words:

secure (get/take/obtain)

seldom ever (seldom)

simultaneously (at the same time)

subsequent to (after)

subsequently (next/later/therefore)

succeed in making (make)

such time as (when)

sufficient (enough)
 
T Words:

take action (act)

take appropriate measure (act/do)

take cognizance of (know/recognize)

take into consideration (consider)

terminate (end/fire)

the extent to which (how much)

the majority of (most)

to a large extent (mainly)

to be congnizant of (to know)

to the effect that (showing/stating/resulting)

to the fullest possible extent (fully)

transmit (send)
 
U and V Words:

until such time (until/when)

utilize (use)


verification (proof)

visualize (see)
 
W Words (None for X, Y, Z):

whether or not (whether)

with a view to (to)

with reference to (about--or leave out)

with regard to (about/regarding--or leave out)

with the exception of (except for/excluding)

with the knowledge that (knowing)

with the possible exception of (except)

with the result that (so that)

without further delay (now/right away/immediately)
 
W Words (None for X, Y, Z):

whether or not (whether)

with a view to (to)

with reference to (about--or leave out)

with regard to (about/regarding--or leave out)

with the exception of (except for/excluding)

with the knowledge that (knowing)

with the possible exception of (except)

with the result that (so that)

without further delay (now/right away/immediately)

Thanks, SR. But am wondering... I thought with short stories writers should go for the fewest words. It seems that the alternatives are longer. Flowery, of course, and a nice departure from the usual, thought-provoking, yet just conveying the same thing in more words.

Could be I'm missing the point entirely.
 
Thanks, SR. But am wondering... I thought with short stories writers should go for the fewest words. It seems that the alternatives are longer. Flowery, of course, and a nice departure from the usual, thought-provoking, yet just conveying the same thing in more words.

Could be I'm missing the point entirely.

I think you've read that the wrong way around - he's actually suggesting the shorter options to replace the longer ones. So you're in complete agreement.
 
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