Friday, January 8, 2016

Still At It After All These Years

My stream-of-consciousness post yesterday proved one thing to me: I've still got it.

Wherein "it" is a knack for unconsciously inserting the same five words into my prose.

When I'm actively editing my work as I go, I can keep their overall usage down. If I'm just typing away, however, they creep in like roaches. And like roaches, they only scurry away if I highlight their presence. Thus, I try to remain vigilant. But even that's not always enough.

I didn't use them all yesterday, but my list of major offenders remains the same as when I first started blogging. In alphabetical order, they are:
  • even
  • just
  • only
  • still
  • that
Even still, that only just covers the five I'm aware of. I'm sure there are more. And don't get me started on my other writerly tics and mannerisms. We'd be here all day.

Well, I would. You'd probably stop reading after a sentence or two (if you haven't already) and instead go play Candy Crush or stalk a Kardashian or whatever it is other people do.

What do you people do when you're not reading my blog? No, on second thought, don't tell me. We'd be here all day.

4 comments:

  1. I play Candy Crush while I stalk a Kardashian. I'm all about multi-tasking.

    I use that list of words constantly. I tend to blog the way I talk, much to its detriment, I'm sure.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your blog doesn't seem any worse for wear, so I say keep blogging like you talk. Of course, novels are another animal entirely. (Keep a tranquilizer gun handy.)

      Delete
  2. Just is my main crutch word.
    Can I tell you what I'd rather be doing all day...?

    ReplyDelete
  3. No, don't tell me what you'd rather be doing. Just do it. (Then, if you feel so inclined, you can come back and tell me what you did.)

    ReplyDelete