That.

If it's needed in the passage, there's nothing wrong with "that". If it's not needed, then cut it.

Do a "find" search for the word and see how many you can weed out; if nothing else, it will help tighten your word count.

I agree with Cyia. But keep in mind THAT sometimes a little variation in sentence structure is desirable.

legendary bum said:

I have issues with this word.

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As you should. It signifies that you're learning and growing as a writer.

Do you need to be consistent with it in your writing?

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Yes.

Does it matter?

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Yes.

Sometimes using the word "that" sounds right and sometimes it doesn't.

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And you've answered your own question. Learning to discern when to use it and when not is more significant than you might think. It's the first step to introducing yourself to your inner-editor. Eventually you'll look at bigger issues, such as "Do I need this sentence? This paragraph? This scene?" Etc.

Lyx--Self-proclaimed "That" slayer

That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is that it? That it is.

blacbird said:

That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is that it? That it is.

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So you say.

Read it out loud. Quite often that will solve that problem.

This discussion comes up every now and then, as it should.

I agree with thatslayer Lyxdeslic: In narrative, any "that" not absolutely necessary for meaning should be staked through its heart and exposed to sunlight till it bursts into flame.

But don't forget a liberal sprinkling of even unnecessary "thats" in a certain character's dialog can make his -- but mostly her -- speech patterns differ or even stand out.

Lyxdeslic. That. Yes, that as he said.

Cyia, too. I did a word search and cut at least 8 "that" from my 63,000 word ms. Not a lot but I didn't use much to begin with.

This here or that there?

That's just absurd.

legendary bum said:

I have issues with this word. Do you need to be consistent with it in your writing?

For example, saying "There are things about him I don't know" (versus "There are things about him that I don't know"), and then in some other place saying "I told her that she had lost her mind" (versus "I told her she had lost her mind").

Does it matter? Sometimes using the word "that" sounds right and sometimes it doesn't.

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Think about cadence. Sometimes that extra mono-syllabic word is an essential beat to the rhythm of a sentence, as well as the overall rhythmic structure of a paragraph/chapter/book.

Its consistency will be more important in dialog of specific characters.

jaksen said:

Read it out loud. Quite often that will solve that problem.

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That is good advice, too.

legendary bum said:

I have issues with this word. Do you need to be consistent with it in your writing?

For example, saying "There are things about him I don't know" (versus "There are things about him that I don't know"), and then in some other place saying "I told her that she had lost her mind" (versus "I told her she had lost her mind").

Does it matter? Sometimes using the word "that" sounds right and sometimes it doesn't.

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No words are good or bad, or even forbidden. Use words only when needed.

Personally, I also like to remove "that" as often as I can. I feel my sentences are stronger. But, if "that" belongs somewhere, then it just belongs.

I don't know about all of that.

Seriously though, I have been removing "that" from a lot of my sentences lately and it really does seem to help.

Journalism has made me tend to avoid "that," however, I think it has its uses. I've found myself including it more and more often lately. It has its place, but perhaps it's better to err on the side of under-use?

I try to eliminate "that" now but some are still necessary, and some sound better being there. So it's not a global search and replace thing.

jaksen said:

Read it out loud. Quite often that will solve that problem.

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This solves a lot of problems

PLENTY of scripts for my last game, everyone loved, signed off on by everyone, get the actor in the booth and realize "this is not a sentence a human being would ever speak," at which point we're all super happy the writer is sitting right there.

legendary bum said:

I have issues with this word. Do you need to be consistent with it in your writing?

For example, saying "There are things about him I don't know" (versus "There are things about him that I don't know"), and then in some other place saying "I told her that she had lost her mind" (versus "I told her she had lost her mind").

Does it matter? Sometimes using the word "that" sounds right and sometimes it doesn't.

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You will quickly, and I submit you're already there, find that while you use "that" more often than you should, sometimes it is what people say, and you find yourself unable to remove it because people simply don't speak in the most grammatically efficient manner possible.

Finaly, someone with the same issue as I. I find myself removing about a hundred "that's" in my writing...
"We may speak the word, yet we can not write it..."

Susan Littlefield said:

No words are good or bad, or even forbidden. Use words only when needed.

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^^That.

Cyia said:

If it's needed in the passage, there's nothing wrong with "that". If it's not needed, then cut it.

Do a "find" search for the word and see how many you can weed out; if nothing else, it will help tighten your word count.

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I did this with all the words overuse. It was quite helpful (and a wee bit embarrassing, LOL).

Chicago Expat said:

Think about cadence. Sometimes that extra mono-syllabic word is an essential beat to the rhythm of a sentence, as well as the overall rhythmic structure of a paragraph/chapter/book.

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That.