Word frequency tool

[Missy]

I'm excited to give this a try! I know I overuse "that" and "now" and I recently discovered that one of my characters almost always starts her sentences with "Well,"

Actually, I'm kind of afraid to try it. LOL

[Danielle]

I realized I write a lot about my characters's eyes... What they do LOL!!!

[Justin]

I tried this a few months back. I ran a few chapters of Opium Warfare through it...I never realized how many simple words I tend to overuse. Also the times I use a characters's name? wooo!!!

[Tee]

That is an awesome tool. Thanks so much for sharing

[Rose]

Uh, oh. I think I'm in the wrong place. I love repetition.

[G.G.]

hehe I don't mind all repetition. It can be a strong way to convey what the author wants the readers to know. A little bit of emphasizing here and there doesn't hurt.

[Thomas]

Thanks for this tool. It's really helping me find where I can fix over used words. I copied the whole list and I plan on going through every word.

[Michael]

This is a wonderful and useful tool. Thank you.

[Lara]

I'm rather late to this discussion...but this is the tool I have been looking for my whole writing life! Thank you!

I was first made aware of my 'problem' when a beta reader pointed out, "They gasp rather a lot!"

I found a great Pinterest article highlighting most frequently overused words (I was guilty of most). Some words can be altered. Others (e.g. 'that') can often be deleted altogether. Eliminating 'was' will also help change your sentences from passive to active.

Here is the list, along with a few of my culprits:

Just / only / was / but / seem / got up, got / shrug / grin / smile / suddenly / eyes (rolling etc) / realise / about/ could / scanned

There's also a lot of advice out there on eliminating adverbs (do a search for 'ly'...it's scary!).

[Tanner]

This is an incredibly useful tool. Thanks for sharing it!