I love all my words equally, but...

[mistymassey]

Sometimes there are certain words that show up with alarming frequency in novels. I'm horribly guilty of using "just" and "really" too many times. During the editing phase, when I realize I've done it again, I overreact in the opposite direction, ripping every instance of either word out of the manuscript. Other writers have their own overused words, too - "then", for instance, and "also". Sometimes a character "shrugs" too many times, or "grins" enough to convince me she's loony.

The one word people use that makes my skin crawl off my bones in frustration, is "as". I don't love "as". It's the kind of word that reaches out, grabs me by the ear and yanks my head down onto the desk. It's a quicksand word - I become mired in it when I see it on a page. I know it's a perfectly acceptable, correct word, and has its place in narrative. I've used it myself, goodness knows. Once in a while is just dandy. But to me, seeing "as" is as painful as hearing "it" was to the Knights of Ni. (Oh no, I wrote "as"! Oh no, I wrote "as" again! Run away!)

What words send you into a tailspin?

EDIT: I'm not alone in my anti-as sentiment! *laughs*

Comments

as

[strangertides.livejournal.com]

Wow, I just looked in the story that I'm trying to knock into presentable shape at the moment, and the word "as" appears 31 times... in the first 10 pages. :O

I've noticed on re-reading my stuff that I tend to repeat the same phrases too often ("in fact", and "in any case", for example), so I have to go through and cut or change some of the occurrences. But I don't think I've ever been alarmed about an individual word.

So what is it about "as" that gets you, do you think? To me it's one of those utility words that serves its purpose unobtrusively, but obviously different readers notice different things. And what would you do about it? Replace half of them with "since", "like", "while", or "when"?

Re: as

[madkestrel.livejournal.com]

"As" is a useful word, you're right. And sometimes I don't mind it. Is this as bizarre to you as it is to me? doesn't bother me at all. But As she was careening wildly around the corner, the tramp jumped out from behind the trash cans sounds slow and plodding. I'd prefer She careened wildly around the corner. The tramp leaped from behind the trash cans. Does that make sense at all?

A caveat: I'm sure I used "as" quite a lot in my own writing. It only seems to bother me when I'm reading someone else's work. It's purely a personal quirk. Which is why I'm not admitting what I was reading today that spurred this thought. *grin*

Re: as

[strangertides.livejournal.com]

Yep, it does make sense. So of the 31 occurrences I mentioned, only (!) six fall into this usage category. Still probably too many for you; I'll think about them some more - thanks!

[dustyskinandall.livejournal.com]

reading "in fact" over and over drives me nuts.

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

Here via popfiend, and I loathe "was." I cannot stand it. I want it gone! Agh.

(And my characters shrug and sigh too much, too. There must be better ways to express the things that those movements express!)

[madkestrel.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! One of my writing group buddies used to insist "to be" and "to get" were cheat words, used by people who didn't know any more interesting verbs. *laugh*

[miintikwa.livejournal.com]

Hee! I know the feeling. And every time I have to use "was" because my brain will not bring me the verb I want I feel like I am made of FAIL! It sucks!

sent by popfiend

[bluesgirly.livejournal.com]

I cannot stand, repeat, CANNOT STAND, when I hear idiot words like "conversate" or "romantical" or anything MTV-esque. I hate cliches. HATE THEM WITH A RED HOT POKER. When I commit a cliche, I want to hit myself over the head with a pan.

Our language is on it's way to hell I tell ya!

I am the queen of the run on sentence so I will check my "as-es" in case my writing gets moldy like that.

I think I may be a "just" goblin too.

Great question.

[wookiemonster.livejournal.com]

"like" and "okay."

I had a middle school English teacher who hated commas, though...

(another popfiend reader)

[red-tanya.livejournal.com]

utilize. *suppresses fist of doom*

[wickedsin.livejournal.com]

I hate superfluous adjectives when one well chosen word would do the trick. My pet peeve though (although this is in speech more than in writing) has to do with adverbs. How very hard is it to put an LY on the end of a word? For instance, people tell me all the time to drive safe, or drive careful, instead of drive safely or carefully.

In writing, I hate excessive use of punctuation to illustrate a point. (see below)

IT. JUST. DOESN'T. MAKE. SENSE.

Not to say I haven't ever been guilty of it, but some people do it ALL the time.

Last but not least, I hate the misuse of common phrases. For example, "for all intensive purposes" instead of the correct "for all intents and purposes".

(sent by popfiend, blame him)

[epiclevelregina.livejournal.com]

(here via popfiend)

Some of my worst habits when I write:

- every adjective that flows from my fingertips has "really" in front of it.

- I can't write an opinion without starting the sentence with "I think," "I feel," or "I believe."

- When I'm narrating a story, I constantly attach phrases using the present participle. At least, I think that's what I do; I'm really rusty on my grammar terminology. Example: "Setting the tray on the coffee table, I sat between them on the couch."

For these reasons and many more, I never finish the stories that I start writing.

Here via popfiend...

[ktpinto.livejournal.com]

My biggest issue in my latest book is that my characters are constantly 'raising a brow' or 'raising her/his brows' at each other.

After a while it seems like they're all doing Groucho Marx impersonations....