Remove These 30 Words and Phrases from Your Writing Now

Remove These 30 Words and Phrases from Your Writing Now Becoming a better writer is an art form. It requires patience, research, reading voraciously, and above allâ€"practice. In the process, a writers lexicon should be consistently curated, since words are the basis of the writing profession, and words that are vague or superfluous should be replaced with better ones or deleted.If you want to sharpen your craft, here are 30 words and phrases to remove from your writing now.Down, up (if following sat or stood)In most cases when you see these two words following sat or stood, its superfluous. She sat down in the chair could be she sat in the chair, and they stood up to sing could be they stood to sing. The point here is to keep your writing as sharp as possible.ThatIn many cases, use of that is either superfluous or incorrect. The book that is on my bookshelf could be the book on my bookshelf and retain the same meaning. The night that were going to the baseball game should rather be the night were going to the baseball game.That is also i ncorrectly used when referring to people. For example, I have a friend that plays cello is incorrect. You dont have a friend that plays cello. You have a friend who plays cello. In the same sense, My aunt that is visiting from Florida should be my aunt who is visiting from Florida.Said, asked, replied, whispered, demanded or any other dialogue tags (after the first few sentences of dialogue)Instead of using dialogue tags, which slow the pacing of the story, reserve them for the first few sentences of dialogue then ditch them afterwards. After your reader understands the order that the characters are speaking in, theyll catch whos saying what without these distractions.You can also use actions taking place between and around dialogue to help note who is saying each line. Consider the two examples below. Which one has the better pacing?Example 1What time is the meeting tonight, asked Steve.I have no clue, said Terrance, but they sent out an email this morning.Yeah, my email inbox is s wamped with complaints, said Steve.Complaints? said Terrance.Dont ask, said Steve.Example 2Steve stopped, knowing now why he felt like he was forgetting something all morning. What time is the meeting tonight?I have no clue, but they sent out an email this morning. Terrance didnt bother to look up from his work.Yeah, my email inbox is swamped with complaints.Complaints? At least now Terrance was interested.Dont ask.Think, thought, felt, feel, realize, wonderUsing these words in your story is a great example of telling vs. showing. You dont have to tell your reader that the main character is thinking something. Simply put it in italics to show that its a mental process within the narration.Or alternatively, state it. If your protagonist wonders whether the love of his life is gone for good, dont write he wondered if the love of his life is gone for good. Instead, write the question: Was the love of his life gone for good? The fact he is wondering this is implied in the narration, so the reader sees what the character is wondering about without being told that the character is, in fact, wondering.You dont have to tell your reader that the main character is thinking something. Simply put it in italics to show that its a mental process within the narration. Photo by Nathan Cowley from Pexels.WentThis is one of those lazy words that should be replaced with something more descriptive and compelling. Instead of writing, She went to church you could rather write she drove to church. Instead of writing, He went to soccer practice you could rather write he ran to soccer practice. See how that changes the image? Not only did you avoid a vague word, but you used the same word count to offer more detail for your reader.HonestlyThis word might be more often used in nonfiction or blog articles, but if youre a writer, you should immediately strike it from your vocabulary unless youre using it to describe how someone else has spoken or done something.While its mostly used to a dd emphasis, when its used for this purpose, it immediately implies that the other words youve written are not honest. Honestly, Id rather watch a Netflix show than go to the movies is exactly like saying Id rather watch a Netflix show than go to the movies, except there is implication that youre only now being honest. Additionally, as mentioned for that, extra words should always be removed for sharper writing unless you are going for a purposefully chatty, informal vernacular.Absolutely, totallyWhile usually intended to add emphasis, these words are the epitome of redundancy and are almost never needed. If something is important, its important. Making it absolutely important or totally important doesnt change anything. In the same sense, if something is essential, making it absolutely essential doesnt make it any more essential than it was before adding absolutely to it.Very, really, rather, quiteThese words are modifiers but should always be replaced with a better word to sharpen up your writing. For starters, they signal a young and/or inexperienced writer. If youre using them in dialogue between young people, thats another story, but if its coming from youâ€"the narratorâ€"find a better, more engaging replacement.For example, you could describe a really beautiful day or say it is a dazzling day. You could mention that a road trip will be very long or you could rather describe it as immense, far-reaching or lengthy. Regardless of what youre describing, you will always be able to find a more suitable replacement for very and really. If you choose the right adjective, it shouldnt need to be qualified. If youre stuck, simply pull up an online thesaurus and get unstuck quickly.Writer and humorist Mark Twain had a useful solution to removing unneeded modifiers from your writing. Substitute damn every time youre inclined to write very. Your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.Florence King, American novelist, essayist and columnist , put it like this: Very is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen.AmazingAt one time, amazing was just fine to use. It means causing astonishment, great wonder, or surprise and is used constantly in everything from slogans to speeches to social media posts to conversations about sports or the weather. Simply put: its overused. Heres a list of less-overused words that express the same (or nearly the same) concept.FascinatingIncredibleMarvelousStunningSurprisingUnbelievableAstoundingMiraculousMind-blowingStaggeringWonderfulAlways, neverThese words create absolutes and can make your writing seem inaccurate or even closed-minded. To say that something always happens is to claim that you have an omniscient view of an incident, across locations, situations, and even time periods. Obviously, this is not the case.Women dont always nag their husbands and dogs dont always torment cats. It doesnt always rain in Seattle and children dont always say mean things to each other. In the same sense, claiming that it never rains in the desert or love never lasts makes the writer seem unprofessional, overly confident, and simply wrong. Thats why using these words in your writing should be avoided.LiterallyIf this word is used correctly, it denotes something that happens exactly as stated, in the literal sense. However, youll often see it doing the opposite, or used with a figurative expression (as in, That literally scared me to death!). If you literally thought you were dying, be sure that was the case before using the term. Or even betterâ€"dont use it at all and simply note how you thought you were dying. Rarely does the use of the term add important information and as mentioned regarding several of the words on this list, extraneous or vague words are best left unwritten.JustThis is another filler word that adds nothing to the meaning of the se ntence, unless it is used to describe an action that is based on, or person behaving according to what is morally right and fair (the literal definition of the word). Think of it as sugar. Its best to leave it alone entirely, but if you must use it, moderation is best. Its nothing but empty calories.Think of words like just as sugar. Its best to leave it alone entirely, but if you must use it, moderation is best. Its nothing but empty calories. Photo by Mali Maeder from Pexels.Stuff, thingsWeve all met that person who overuses thing when they cant remember the word for the object to which theyre referring. Stuff falls into the same category and neither should be used by writers who would be expected to have an above-average vocabulary. Be specific!IrregardlessThis is one of those words the majority will get wrong, since many who use it dont realize that its meaning is regardless. Although it is a word, it is nonstandard in that its prefix (ir-) and suffix (-less) create a double neg ative. Since its meaning is often misunderstood, combined with a double negative thats confusing, its best to avoid using it at all.