Overused Words to Avoid

[SimonDoom]

Utilized.

I don't think there is ANY occasion on which the use of this word is justified. The word "use" is ALWAYS superior.

 

[KeithD]

Utilized.

I don't think there is ANY occasion on which the use of this word is justified. The word "use" is ALWAYS superior.

You beat me to it. I was mulling whether to wade into this one or not. (The exception, of course, being dialogue by a technocrat.)

 

[txblush]

Utilized.

I don't think there is ANY occasion on which the use of this word is justified. The word "use" is ALWAYS superior.

I can't help it if the word utilize popped into my head instead of use when I was posting my message... I was nervous!

 

[SamScribble]

Utilized.

I don't think there is ANY occasion on which the use of this word is justified. The word "use" is ALWAYS superior.

There was a time when utilise meant to put to good use something which might otherwise have been trashed or abandoned. 'The builders utilised the old roofing tiles as part of the new roof.' But that usage has largely gone by the wayside. These days it is more likely to be used by pompous twits trying to sound erudite.

 

[txblush]

There was a time when utilise meant to put to good use something which might otherwise have been trashed or abandoned. 'The builders utilised the old roofing tiles as part of the new roof.' But that usage has largely gone by the wayside. These days it is more likely to be used by pompous twits trying to sound erudite.

Geez thanks for making me feel even worse than I already did for making an honest mistake because I was nervous.

 

[txblush]

Now would someone please answer my question about how to use a word cloud to help me eliminate overused words in my work. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[ElectricBlue]

Now would someone please answer my question about how to use a word cloud to help me eliminate overused words in my work. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Drop your text in here:

https://worditout.com/word-cloud/create

and it will give you a visual of the most used words (top one hundred) in your story. It takes any amount of text.

I find it invaluable - after spell-check, it's the only software tool I use.

Here's an example, from a recent story:

https://worditout.com/word-cloud/4980332

 

[ElectricBlue]

First, I want to thank you for providing the link.

Second, and you'll have to pardon me if this is a dumb question, but how do you utilize the word cloud to help eliminate overused words. I have trouble with overusing the words and/but. I have no idea how to correct that problem in my writing. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

You eyeball the visual, spot a word ("just" is a common weakness of mine), then "Find" that word in your draft, and consider changing it.

With regard to "and" and "but" - which this word cloud doesn't show because they're too common - I suggest you look at your punctuation more closely, look at varying your sentence length, commas, shorter sentences ("and" being a sign of a run on, amongst other essential uses).

And write your characters with more certainty, "but" being a sign of caveats and uncertainty, possibly, maybe.

Do the same thing for any word tic you might have. Use "Find" in your drafting software and ask yourself, "Do I need this one?" I always scrub through "and then", which used to be an overused bad habit of mine, for example - you can generally get by with one or the other, but only on occasion do you need both.

 

[txblush]

Thank you electricblue66,

I found the following link shortly after posting my question to you.

https://dianaurban.com/words-you-should-cut-from-your-writing-immediately

I have the same problem with... and then.

 

[Blind_Justice]

"After a moment"
"But"
"And Then"
"Sighed"
"Boobs"

You can not, under any circumstances, have too many boobs. Ignore anything Rick and Morty have taught us...

 

[SimonDoom]

Thank you electricblue66,

I found the following link shortly after posting my question to you.

https://dianaurban.com/words-you-should-cut-from-your-writing-immediately

I have the same problem with... and then.

This is a great list, but it comes with some big caveats:

1. It's perfectly OK to use these words in dialogue, if their use would be consistent with what that character in real life really would say. People use the word "like" in dialogue all the time. Some say "very" a lot. Others use "totally." The guidelines for narration do NOT apply to dialogue.

2. I ALSO believe it's perfectly OK to use these words in narration if a) the narration is in first person, and you are attempting to write the same way your character actually would think or talk or write, and b) the narration is in the form of close third person, where the narration is intended to capture, from an omniscient perspective, the character's thoughts or narration in the same way that particular character would verbalize them.

I do number 2 a lot. I use "very" and other words like to indicate a more informal, talky style of narration if I think it fits with the character or with the tone of the story.

Similarly, I would use the word "utilize" if I was telling the story about an officious mid-level business executive who used words in a way that suggested he was jargon-prone and full of himself and had the mistaken impression that using big words makes one look smarter and more official, and I wanted my narration to capture his way of thinking.

And I think this general approach carries across the board regarding all word usage. Given the right story, any word or phrase might conceivably have its place, no matter how overused or cliche.

 

[txblush]

This is a great list, but it comes with some big caveats:

1. It's perfectly OK to use these words in dialogue, if their use would be consistent with what that character in real life really would say. People use the word "like" in dialogue all the time. Some say "very" a lot. Others use "totally." The guidelines for narration do NOT apply to dialogue.

2. I ALSO believe it's perfectly OK to use these words in narration if a) the narration is in first person, and you are attempting to write the same way your character actually would think or talk or write, and b) the narration is in the form of close third person, where the narration is intended to capture, from an omniscient perspective, the character's thoughts or narration in the same way that particular character would verbalize them.

I do number 2 a lot. I use "very" and other words like to indicate a more informal, talky style of narration if I think it fits with the character or with the tone of the story.

Similarly, I would use the word "utilize" if I was telling the story about an officious mid-level business executive who used words in a way that suggested he was jargon-prone and full of himself and had the mistaken impression that using big words makes one look smarter and more official, and I wanted my narration to capture his way of thinking.

And I think this general approach carries across the board regarding all word usage. Given the right story, any word or phrase might conceivably have its place, no matter how overused or cliche.

Thanks Simon for your caveats! I'll keep them in mind when I'm writing my stories.

 

[DanDraper]

A pet peeve of mine that I didn’t see listed above is “proceeded to.” As in

He proceeded to drink his beer.
They proceeded to have sex.
She proceeded to write clunky prose.

In each case, proceeded to can be stricken and the verb can be put into the past tense to make the sentence sharper and more succinct.

You're right, I've seen this many times. There are plenty of better ways to describe how a character is continuing an something they are doing.

 

[TheRedChamber]

You're right, I've seen this many times. There are plenty of better ways to describe how a character is continuing an something they are doing.

Proceeded to can work when it's highlighting one action in relation to the previous one, as a contrast so:

"He lectured me for half-an-hour on the evils of drink and then proceeded to down ten pints of beer."

 

[DanDraper]

Proceeded to can work when it's highlighting one action in relation to the previous one, as a contrast so:

"He lectured me for half-an-hour on the evils of drink and then proceeded to down ten pints of beer."

Thank you for that example. This helps to clarify that "proceeded to" is still good to use, but only in how it is used.