Overused Words to Avoid

[Zeb_Carter]

Just read it. It's all excellent advice, except the bit about getting rid of dialogue tags. I disagree with that advice. The better rule, IMO, is to mix it up, use them where appropriate, and ditch them when you don't need them. Variety, rather than inflexible rules, is what makes the prose more readable.

I read an article that said (no pun intended) the reader just ignores most dialog tags and the only time they really (there's that word again) use them is if they get confused as to whom is speaking. The article also said that using simple tags is better than long involved tags as a long tag or anything other than 'said, asked, replied' would slow the reader down.

And getting rid of the tag when there are more than two people is not an easy task.

 

[jaF0]

and the only time they really (there's that word again) use them is if they get confused as to whom is speaking.

And getting rid of the tag when there are more than two people is not an easy task.

Two people talking is bad enough, but not too hard to follow if the scene is set up right. Add a third who is more or less a casual observer who speaks up and it can get messy. I try to have one or both of the first two use the third's name.

MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
"Wow, you two look like you've been out in the Sun too long."
"Gilligan, be a dear and come over here and rub some more coconut oil on us."
"Oh, come one Ginger, it doesn't have to be coconut oil as long as it looks like it."

 

[AlinaX]

Probably my most dialogue-y story is this: https://www.literotica.com/s/bimbo-2

 

[Trionyx]

Two people talking is bad enough, but not too hard to follow if the scene is set up right. Add a third who is more or less a casual observer who speaks up and it can get messy. I try to have one or both of the first two use the third's name.

MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
MaryAnn says something.
Ginger says something.
"Wow, you two look like you've been out in the Sun too long."
"Gilligan, be a dear and come over here and rub some more coconut oil on us."
"Oh, come one Ginger, it doesn't have to be coconut oil as long as it looks like it."

I agree that using a name within the dialog occasionally helps keep things on track. I try to insert one every 6-10 dialog lines if the dialog isn't absolutely clear by itself.

 

[Crownvic]

My unfavorite term is “You Know”....No I Don’t!!

 

[TadOverdon]

I mentioned "now." It continues to vex me.

 

[NotWise]

I mentioned "now." It continues to vex me.

Even now?

 

[TadOverdon]

Even now?

Well, now and then.

Which are both adverbs of time, dammit! Down with adverbs!

 

[NotWise]

Well, now and then.

Which are both adverbs of time, dammit! Down with adverbs!

Aren't they functioning as nouns in my example and your reply?

Some of these overused words are unnecessary and overused in some contexts, but not in others.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Probably my most dialogue-y story is this: https://www.literotica.com/s/bimbo-2

Here is one I wrote a while back, there is no sex as it's a sci-fi story, there is very little narration, just dialog. To start it's just two characters, then a third is added. A Hole in Time.

 

[TadOverdon]

Aren't they functioning as nouns in my example and your reply?

Yes, now can be a number of things.

But overusing it as an adverb is my bugaboo. As far as I'm concerned, "She realized now" is a phrase I should never type again. But I do, I do...

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Shifting lanes a little bit, still speaking of word overuse, a puzzle one of my more fiendish teachers presented the class round about Grade 7. Punctuate the following so as to make sense (changes in capitalization are permitted):

James while Sue had had had had had had had had had had had the best effect​

It was things like this which led to my lifelong distrust of grammarians.

 

[AlinaX]

James, while Sue had had 'had had', had had 'had'. Had 'had had' had the best effect?

 

[SimonDoom]

James, while Sue had had 'had had', had had 'had'. Had 'had had' had the best effect?

I'm impressed.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

James, while Sue had had 'had had', had had 'had'. Had 'had had' had the best effect?

I'd had (giggle) James, while Sue had had ‘had’, had had ‘had had’. ‘Had had” had had the best effect. but yours works very well!

 

[Bramblethorn]

Shifting lanes a little bit, still speaking of word overuse, a puzzle one of my more fiendish teachers presented the class round about Grade 7. Punctuate the following so as to make sense (changes in capitalization are permitted):

James while Sue had had had had had had had had had had had the best effect​

It was things like this which led to my lifelong distrust of grammarians.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo

 

[TarnishedPenny]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_buffalo_Buffalo_buffalo

 

[Trionyx]

Check out Diana Urban's 43 Words You Should Cut From Your Writing Immediately https://dianaurban.com/words-you-should-cut-from-your-writing-immediately

I just reviewed my upcoming nude day story with her list in mind. Not only did I have a lot of her no-nos, I found that I used them in repetitive ways. Cleaned things up a bit. Does read better.

 

[TadOverdon]

"Certainly" is my current bugaboo, both in dialogue and in tight narration.

Nineteen "certainlys" in 40,000 words is certainly too many. Time for weeding.

 

[jaF0]

It's certainly no where near as bad as all the '24/7's I see out there everywhere. Even though that certainly isn't a word.

 

[TadOverdon]

I just realized that "realized" is evil.

I'm trying to break my characters of "thinking" which, given the inexplicably motivated and crazed that things they do, shouldn't be so difficult.

I still reserve the right to have a character occasionally "wonder" or "muse."

Adverbs? I may never surrender "gently."

"Each other" versus "one another" is interesting. No hard-and-fast rule. Some sources insist that there is. Others, like Collins Dictionary, explain that there is not:

What is the difference between each other and one another?

1 uses
You use each other or one another to show that each member of a group does something to or for the other members. For example, if Simon likes Louise and Louise likes Simon, you say that Simon and Louise like each other or like one another. Each other and one another are sometimes called reciprocal pronouns.

Each other and one another are usually the direct or indirect object of a verb.

We help each other a lot.
They sent one another gifts from time to time.

You can also use them as the object of a preposition.

Pierre and Thierry were jealous of each other.
They didn't dare to look at one another.

2 possessives
You can form possessives by adding 's to each other and one another.

I hope that you all enjoy each other's company.
Apes spend a great deal of time grooming one another's fur.

3 differences
There is very little difference in meaning between each other and one another. One another is fairly formal, and many people do not use it at all. Some people prefer to use each other when they are talking about two people or things, and one another when they are talking about more than two. However, most people do not make this distinction.

 

[mynameisben]

"Each other."
"One another."

Man, that's really splitting hairs. I wouldn't hesitate to use either one, totally at whim's desire. The grammar Nazis can stew in their own sauce.


Ben

 

[TadOverdon]

"Each other."
"One another."

Man, that's really splitting hairs. I wouldn't hesitate to use either one, totally at whim's desire. The grammar Nazis can stew in their own sauce.


Ben

Yeah, looking it up confirmed my sense that it's generally a matter of formality. Writing primarily in tight third-person, I lean toward informality in narration.

 

[txblush]

'and then' was a bad habit for a while until I caught it. Now it's one of several "find and replace" word pairs that I always scrub. And 'just'.

I use worditout all the time - the site creates word clouds with the top 100 words (excluding the essential construction words). Very handy. Here's an example from my latest 1500 words:

https://worditout.com/word-cloud/4712686/private/2ec0af6523b1b39646ec195e3d625137

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.

 

[DouglasFinney]

What are some other overused words that you notice that authors need to be aware of? If you can, please explain why.

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.