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12 Useful Websites to Improve Your Writing
I didn’t know how to reblog this article from StumbleUpon so I’m providing a link to it. These websites are worth a look.
Please, please send me comments telling me if these websites were helpful or not.
Happy Writing!
Clear Writing – No. 4
Redundant Word Search
(these are a few examples; there may be others you will need to look for)
Correct these words appropriately.
2-wheel bicycle 6 a.m. in the morning nodded his head
blistering hot crept slowly exact same
drop down eased slowly long-necked giraffe
rise up rose to her feet sat down
shrugged his shoulders stomped heavily terribly bad
the reason why tiptoed quietly red in color
ran quickly long-lasting durability today’s soup for today
Read each phrase listed above and ask if these words are a repeat of their meaning. For example: blistering hot. Could you not simply say “blistering day” and leave out “hot?” Or let’s look at: rose to her feet. As oppose to what? “rose to (what?).” By definition doesn’t crept mean to move slowly. So why must we say “crept slowly?”
It becomes crucial to delete redundant words from your manuscript when and if you need to reduce the size of your novel. I’m currently working on a family saga that is too long and this is the main problem I’m running into. However, the more I perform the onerous task of spotting and deleting redundant words, the better my writing becomes and the better I get at spotting these pesky words. Sometimes putting these redundant words together sounds good, may even sound like a cliché (and most are), but they are grammatically incorrect in a manuscript.
One of the last tasks you must perform after completing your manuscript is to look for redundant words and any to be verbs and minimize them. Both redundant words and to be verbs can drag your story. I ran across an article the other day where a writer said that he allows only one to be verb in each paragraph. I have adopted this rule and I am implementing it in my writing. I avoid them altogether whenever possible.
One of the other things I do after I’ve declared my manuscript is complete is to search for repetitive words. I restructure or delete these sentences wherever possible.
Things to Remember
When editing your work, remember to include the five senses so that the reader can hear, touch, smell, see, and taste what you want them to experience. This helps the readers participate with the characters in the event. So ask yourself the following questions while you are editing your manuscript:
1. Where is the scene taking place? Where are they? Have you described the surroundings?
2. Who is speaking? Is it clear who is speaking?
3. When is the scene/event taking place? Is it sunny? Dark? Cloudy?
4. What is the purpose of the scene? Is the scene vital to the story? Can the scene be deleted?
5. How is this possible? Always question if your scene, dialogue, events are possible/normal.
Writing Tips – Common Misused Words – No. 3
Becoming a writer is hard work. Depending on the genre you’re writing for, this profession comes with a host of rules to abide by, along with many things to learn (and sometimes unlearn).
With every chapter I write, it seems I learn something new, or I forget to implement what I’ve learned. My most common mistake is using the wrong words. It’s embarrassing.
More importantly, the definition of the correct words and that of the wrong words are vastly different and can be the deciding factor in getting your books published. Misused words prove counter-productive and are bound to mislead your readers. These mistakes, however, aren’t life-threatening and no one is going to barge into your home and eat you because you made this mistake. Be encouraged. If you and I were the only ones making this mistake, there wouldn’t be any need for the reference books I listed below to be in print, would it? Over time, with good, diligent, proofreading habits, you will catch your mistakes and become a better writer.
The four books I heavily rely on to help minimize mistakes are: Style – Lessons in Clarity and Grace – Ninth Edition by Joseph M. Williams; How to Not Right Bad Rite Bad Wright Bad Write Bad by Ben Yagoda; Spunk & Bite by Arthur Plotnik; and Word Savvy by Nancy Ragno. Each book is filled with examples applied to the principles of writing. They also include a list of common misused words, especially Word Savvy (on page 138). You may save money by purchasing these books used through Amazon.com.
A book I inadvertently omitted from the list above is The Well-Spoken Thesaurus by Tom Heehler. The thing I love most about The Well-Spoken Thesaurus and Word Savvy is that the authors don’t spend a lot of time listening to themselves talk. They get straight to the point and provide numerous examples. Word Savvy even has quizzes and work exercises. These are quick reference books for the ages.
In addition to using these books, I have also saved wordsmyth.net into my web browser so that it’s always at my fingertips. You may have a favorite dictionary or thesaurus you like to use. If so, make sure it’s in your web browser. Use it often.
The last tip I want to share is: learn how to read exactly what you have written. This is a hard one. I stumble over this all the time. However, it is important because once you post or publish your writing, often it can’t be undone. Be diligent about proofreading your work. Don’t be shy about asking someone to proof it for you. Don’t ask a friend. They’ll coddle you and this won’t do you any good. You need an objective eye to help you through the editing process. If the people you know are too busy, present them with only a few pages at a time.
Below is a list of misused words I have encountered, but there are many more. Refer to the books I noted above, or Google frequently misused words on the internet.
Sequence – an arrangement or process in which one thing follows another
Sequin – a small shiny flat disk usually sewn in great numbers onto clothing as decoration
Anecdote – a brief account of a notable or humorous incident; a story, tale, narrative
Antidote – a substance that counteracts poison or disease
Odious (which I wrote as Idious) – provoking or deserving of hatred; despicable, detestable
Hideous – exceptionally ugly or frightening in appearance; repulsive
Scuff – to drag the feet along while walking; shuffle
Scoff – speak with mild scorn or derision
Principle – a law, doctrine, or assumption on which action or behavior is based
Principal – first in status, value, or importance, chief, main
Effect – something produced or brought on by something else; ability to bring about a change or result
Affect – to influence, cause a change in, or have an impact on; to move emotionally, touch
Poke – to jab, prod, especially with a slender or sharp object
Pout – to show unhappiness or displeasure, especially by pushing out the lips; sulk; scowl
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Poet, Author
Writer Tips – Clear Writing 1.1
Rid Your Writing of Redundant Words
No. 1.1
As further examples of redundant wording, I have included my personal blunders, along with suggested corrections.
After having the first chapter of my book critiqued, these are the mistakes I made. These sentences are good examples of redundant word usage as mentioned in Writing Tip – Clear Writing No. 1 (in my previous blog). I’ve included a better sentence structure below each example.
Read each sentence and find words that are repetitive in meaning, and words that add nothing to the sentence. Remember, your objective is to come up with a clean, clear, and concise sentence. And notice how much shorter my sentences become when I delete redundant and repetitive words. During rewrites, these redundancies become crucial. The biggest flaw with new writers is we use too many words when less words can say the same thing.
Example 1
With her mother’s words still lingering in her ear, she ignored the sealed, unmarked envelope and placed it in the trash pile.
Still doesn’t add anything to the sentence. If you take it out, has it changed the sentence? “…in her ear” is deleted because where else would words linger? The preposition is redundant. “…ignored…” should be deleted because “she” didn’t really ignore the envelope IF she placed it in the trash, did she? I restructured the sentence as follows:
Example 1 Corrected
With her mother’s words lingering, she placed the sealed, unmarked envelope in the trash.
Example 2
Curious, she cocked her head to the side then picked it up.
To cock your head means to lean it to the side. So, cocked and to the side mean the same thing and come off as redundant. Also, the way the sentence reads, it sounds as if “she” picked up her head.
Example 2 Corrected
Curious, she cocked her head then she picked up the envelope.
Example 3
She straightened the folds of the letter, as she walked toward the window, and peered down at the snow forming soft white mounds onto her 37 acres.
No need for “as she.” Deleting it and adding a comma cuts down on wording. “…peered down.” What you didn’t know about this scene is that the woman is in the attic.
Second, the English gurus tell us that directional terms should be avoided. Delete “down.” For example, do you really need to say “she looked up at the sky?” Of course not. Simply say “she looked at the sky.” Why? Because the sky is always UP, never down.
The next deletion was “soft.” Snow is always soft, maybe not as soft as cotton if it’s mixed with ice, but all of us think of snow as soft. It’s an automatic way of thinking. If you delete “soft” does it take away from what is being said? No. Then delete it.
Why delete “white?” Is snow another color? Snow is always white. It’s redundant to say it and deleting it cuts down on word count. You see how redundancy can get in the way of clarity?
Example 3 Corrected
She straightened the folds of the letter, walked toward the window, and peered at the snow forming mounds onto her 37 acres.
Example 4
She swiped at a tear and promised not to cry.
Though this sentence is short and you wouldn’t think it’s a problem, it has one word too many. In addition, the sentence as originally written sounds like she “missed” the tear when she swiped at it. I didn’t want the sentence to come off that way to the reader so I deleted “at.” Now it sounds like she “swiped a tear” and it comes across like she was irritated, agitated, or in a hurry when she did so.
Example 4 Corrected
She swiped a tear and promised not to cry.
Example 5
Melba stood in the doorway of the bathroom and stared at the box with contempt.
Remember the list of words I said needed to be deleted in Writing Tips – Clarity No. 1? Go through your writing and delete every of, and, but, to, then, was, been, am, is, being, were, and that wherever possible. (Okay, I added to the list.) You will see how smooth your writing sounds and flows when you rid yourself of these pesty articles and “to be” verbs.
Example 5 Corrected
Melba stood in the bathroom doorway and stared at the box with contempt.
Example 6
As Lucille Jeffries’ only child, Melba could somewhat sympathize with her mother’s concern to take care of her.
The general rule here is to avoid qualifiers such as rather, very, little, pretty, etc. And if you delete “could” and add a “d” to sympathize, that would shorten the sentence even more.
Example 6 Corrected
As Lucille Jeffries’ only child, Melba sympathized with her mother’s concern to take care of her.
Example 7
She dug her nails into another seam and ripped again and again until her elbows and shoulders burned with pain.
Repeating a word or phrase doesn’t always come across as we would like intended. We do it for emphasis. I kind of like it, but it is redundant. (See how I deleted redundancy from this comment.)
Example 7 Corrected
She dug her nails into another seam and ripped again until her elbows and shoulders burned with pain.
Or if you want to convey that the “ripping” went on and on continued, you could might rewrite it as:
She dug her nails into another seam and continued to rip the wallpaper until her elbows and shoulders burned with pain.
I hope these tips work for you and I’ve provided insight to better writing. I’m learning as I go and hoping to take you with me for the ride.
Happy Writing!
Donna B. Comeaux
Freelance Writer, Author, Poet
