Favourite Words

[aelaia]

Here's something I've been sat contemplating for the last few days, only because I've come to the realisation that I overuse the same word repeatedly.

Through your writing, do you ever find the same words/phrases/expressions cropping up? Anything that you like to use, feel you almost overuse repeatedly to the point of where you're having to almost train yourself out of using it and explore other options? When did you first notice it? Has it always happened, or is it a recent development?

With me, apparently this has recently become the word 'clearly'. I'm quite literally having to read, and re-read my writing to find my multiple mentions and then try and find alternative words to use in it's place. I understand this is why thesaurus' exist, and I have never been more grateful for them as I am now. I wouldn't mind if it was because my characters were seeing clearly, but I seem to use it for emphasis, like "Clearly, he hadn't been listening".

It's not a term I ever even think I've used in reality but it got me thinking.

Does anyone else see any word trends throughout their writing?

[grumpy cat]

the f word

i'm not even kidding

oh and also smirking. everyone smirks in my stories.

as to when it happened - idk, all i know is that from the first story i posted here on the archives the above has been true

[aelaia]

6 minutes ago, grumpy cat said:

the f word

i'm not even kidding

oh and also smirking. everyone smirks in my stories.

as to when it happened - idk, all i know is that from the first story i posted here on the archives the above has been true

^^ this is a really valid point actually. Everyone's obsessed with grinning in mine. They need to start frowning more..

[Darling_take_off_the_mask]

22 hours ago, aelaia said:

Everyone's obsessed with grinning in mine. They need to start frowning more..

I do this as well. I noticed one day that I was commenting a ton on how much everyone was smiling, how they were smiling, etc. It's not a bad thing in and of itself, but I had to start making a conscious effort to use other ways to show someone was happy, flirtatious, etc., or a situation was going well.

I also like to use words like "clearly" for emphasis.

Now when I write, I typically have a google tab open where I just type in a word I'm thinking of using and see if it has any synonyms I should use instead (because sometimes the synonyms are readily apparent to me, but sometimes they're not). This has helped a couple of times when I felt I was getting repetitive.

Also, I have noticed that sometimes when I'm writing and I come up with some kind of expression, description, or turn of phrase that I really like, I'll end up reusing it in my next couple of fics.

[GotNoJamsss]

Okay this is one of the realest threads - I feel all of this so much.

On 12/6/2019 at 1:47 PM, RonsGirlFriday said:

I do this as well. I noticed one day that I was commenting a ton on how much everyone was smiling, how they were smiling,

I have done this so many times too! I love what you said about finding other ways to express that they are happy or flirtatious, it's so necessary and yet so stinking difficult sometimes.

I think another thing I have a bad habit of is using a hyphen to interrupt a thought, like "There wasn't anything he could do - well, there was one thing..." 

I think one of the most helpful writing tools I've found is actually watching tv or films and seeing the different ways characters outwardly express their inward emotions. For instance, if someone is nervous, they might fiddle with their earring or tap on the desk in front of them. Ugh. okay, fiddling with things might be another quirk of mine I add in a lot - but it's always something different they fiddle with