Weeding Crutch Words
I'm hitting the crutch words right now. For the uninitiated, crutch words are those words an author relies on too much - like, that, just, etc. I have a list. It goes on and on. Sometimes I add to it because my editor or proofers tell me they noticed other words I used too much.
Before I hit the manuscript to start weeding out the crutch words - either deleting them or replacing them with something better - I print the list and count each word to see what I'm up against. (MS Word is awesome for this. In the Find function, type the word you're looking for, go to Reading Highlight, Highlight All, and it gives you a count.) Here's a sample of the counts I got before I started the weeding process:
that - 439
like - 346
just - 74
said - 317
think - 153
thought - 130
know - 109
when - 202
well - 96
still - 68
even - 118
which - 92
Weeding out that and like took me a day each, off and on. I've gotten the that occurrences down to 219 and the likes down to 146. It's the best I can do. I also hit actually because one of my proofers said I used it too much in this book. Took it from 31 to 10. One of my characters was using his brows too much, too, so I snipped away at that, too.
One thing I should've done was weed the manuscript before I sent it to the proofers, but I forgot. Well... actually... I repressed the need to do it because I hate this part so much.
Over time, I've gotten better about not using certain words in my first draft. My justs have dropped way down. That one used to be three digits on a regular basis. And the thats and likes were always higher. I'm working on it. And what I don't catch on the drafts, I try to catch in edits. It's all good.
Anyway, I'm slogging through and trying not to just say 'fuck it all' and skip this step. The urge is strong, but I'm fighting it because I want my books to be the best they can for my readers.
I was thinking about this last night. As a reader, I don't really notice authors overusing certain words. I get dragged into the story and that stuff doesn't seem to throw me off. Unless I'm editing my own stuff. Then I see every single one of my crutch words in other people's work. Ugh.
How about you? As an author, what are some of your crutch words? As a reader, do you notice when a writer overuses a word?
Before I hit the manuscript to start weeding out the crutch words - either deleting them or replacing them with something better - I print the list and count each word to see what I'm up against. (MS Word is awesome for this. In the Find function, type the word you're looking for, go to Reading Highlight, Highlight All, and it gives you a count.) Here's a sample of the counts I got before I started the weeding process:
that - 439
like - 346
just - 74
said - 317
think - 153
thought - 130
know - 109
when - 202
well - 96
still - 68
even - 118
which - 92
Weeding out that and like took me a day each, off and on. I've gotten the that occurrences down to 219 and the likes down to 146. It's the best I can do. I also hit actually because one of my proofers said I used it too much in this book. Took it from 31 to 10. One of my characters was using his brows too much, too, so I snipped away at that, too.
One thing I should've done was weed the manuscript before I sent it to the proofers, but I forgot. Well... actually... I repressed the need to do it because I hate this part so much.
Over time, I've gotten better about not using certain words in my first draft. My justs have dropped way down. That one used to be three digits on a regular basis. And the thats and likes were always higher. I'm working on it. And what I don't catch on the drafts, I try to catch in edits. It's all good.
Anyway, I'm slogging through and trying not to just say 'fuck it all' and skip this step. The urge is strong, but I'm fighting it because I want my books to be the best they can for my readers.
I was thinking about this last night. As a reader, I don't really notice authors overusing certain words. I get dragged into the story and that stuff doesn't seem to throw me off. Unless I'm editing my own stuff. Then I see every single one of my crutch words in other people's work. Ugh.
How about you? As an author, what are some of your crutch words? As a reader, do you notice when a writer overuses a word?
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