Hi All. I know I've talked about crutch words before. Well, here we go again. With data.
This is the list of crutch words I've compiled for my own work. The numbers are how many I had when I started weeding / how many I had left. I skipped the * ones (unless JC says something on the next pass about them - like they're really irritating).
that 572/162
like 314/110
said 283/132
think 132/44
thought 156/48
though 39*
knew 92/38
know 233/82
wonder 31*
still 110/29
took 32/12
now 48*
realize 29/11
which 103/47
tilted head 15/6
shook head 50/25
by the time 5/4
shrug 15/10
felt 44/18
look 139/29
These are the ones I have to do today so I can get this out to JC:
really 88
seem 42
just 75
even 138
I compiled this from words my editor has pointed out over the course of several books and ones I've noticed on my own. She points them out or I notice them, they go on the list.
It's taken working over the course of 4 days to weed these out of a 63K manuscript. Of course, by weeding, I mean deleting, rewording, replacing, etc.. And I didn't eradicate the entirety of any word because that would just be weird.
As always, I hope I've made this better. JC will let me know if I screwed anything up on her next pass. :fingers crossed:
As a reader, what words really stand out and irritate you after you've seen them over and over?
Last bit, I might be sending out ARCs of this to select people. If you're interested, let me know in the comments.
I'm big on arched brows. LOL A lot of times, I'll leave out the "that" only to have my editor put it back in. Now I just use it if it sounds right during my read-aloud edits. All the rest are a yes.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I have any words that really irritate me as a reader. My irritation comes more from the author's "voice" and yes, that voice is partly defined by word selection.
You can send me an ARC, but I'm going to BUY it, read, and review it anyway. :) Have a great week.
The gremlins gave us both the same list! Sadly, a lot of times I'll weed those words out, but put them back again during the next read-through.
ReplyDeleteUnusual words catch my eye. Lately it's been 'exorbitantly'. They don't exactly bother me, but after a few times I do notice.
I'd love to have an ARC! If you want a typo proofreader, I'd be happy to give it a shot. Just let me know. :-)