Monday, February 11, 2008

Repetition of Words

Watch the repetion of words in your work.

Sometimes this can be avoided by simply referring to a Thesaurus. Other words may require the resturcturing of a sentence.

One of my biggest hurdles became the word WAS. My slogan became "Stop the WASes!"

e.g.:
She was flattered by the praise and began to blush.

Change to:
Flattered by the praise, she began to blush.

Find creative ways to eliminate the words you repeat most often!

2 comments:

Mike Douglas said...

I struggle constantly to not over-use the word “that.” It's a real bugaboo for me, and sometimes my battle against the word works against me, causing me to eliminate it from places where its use would be appropriate.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I'll catch a THAT now & then, too. Once in a great while, it works, but for the most part, it can be completely eliminated.
Now "that that" drives me nuts! I have a friend who talks 'that' way!