But It's Just a Tic!

 Q: Most of us have a writing tic or two, a word we overuse, a tendency to start sentences with the same word, a motion every character makes. Do you have one or a few, and, if so, what do you do to guard against them?

 

-from Susan

 

Yes, I do have a few. Let’s start with the infamous “just,” which pops up everywhere in the first draft. When it signals time it’s good as a placeholder but not as the final word of choice. When it means merely, I use it because merely sounds old fashioned, particularl...