Writing Flaws & Sharing Methods to Avoid Them

TeddyG · Jul 18, 2006

Though this was first developed for a non-fiction piece, it also gives me grief in fiction, short stories and novels especially.

A few years ago while a non-fiction book of mine was being edited, the editor, whom I loved cause he was incredibly sensitive to nuances, pointed out to me that I have this terrible habit of lapsing into past tense.

The problem was/is that I rarely actually caught those lapses immediately, and I was on a schedule where I had to feed chapters into the editor at a fairly swift rate. Thus it was send in - edit - fix - send back - all for things that should never have been in the MS in the first place.

After a couple of weeks I got tired of having to redo a great deal of writing which of course should have been correct in the first place.

So I identified the basic verbs and words of past tense such as "was" and also put on my list the pronoun "I" and went to Word (which I use) created an autocorrect (macro) which immediately highlighted any suspect word as it was typed (I used a diff. color for each word as well). In that way I am able to see visually in "real time" where those lapses take place, how they take place and correct them if need be.

It worked great for the use of pronouns as well and certainly cut out oodles of editing time.
Recently I have found this problem has returned in a WIP which is fiction. So once again I adopted the autocorrect and it works well, though in fiction (usually) it requires a more discerning eye based upon the subject/idea/action taking place at the time.

Does anyone else have any tricks, methods, ideas on these lines that can help us as writers identify problems, mistakes or possible overuse of words in writing?

I would love to hear them...

NightWynde · Jul 18, 2006

I use macros for both pet phrases ("in other words" seems to be a current fave of mine) and swear words. The former because I use it too much, the latter because most of the time it means I'm getting lazy. Not that I don't think either is effective, but my first drafts would make a Marine Drill Seargent blush. lol

TeddyG · Jul 18, 2006

That NW is something that I should have thought about a few weeks ago!
I somehow fell in love with the word "that" (no clue why).
When it was pointed out to me, I did a quick Search and replace, and was sickened by the amount of highlights that appeared on the screen.

mmmm...in other words... well I don't use that at all, but I certainly make that same mistake with other phrases.

Thanks for the tip

Linda Adams · Jul 18, 2006

I think I've got a tip for Word posted over on the tech board on how to do this. I tend to use the word look too much. So I do a search and replace and replace the word look with it highlighted in yellow. Search and replace will tell me how many times I used it in the chapter, and the yellow will make it stand out to easily find. Then I can review it and see if I want to keep or change it.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 18, 2006

trick

I use a word frequency counter that tells me how many times each word in a story is used. The results can be humbling.

TeddyG · Jul 18, 2006

Yep James...I did that a few times, and walked away in disgust.
shivering just thinking about it...
but an important tip...a real important one

NeuroFizz · Jul 18, 2006

The phrases below may not be a quirk of yours, Teddy, but early on I had a problem with them, and I occasionally slip one in now in a rough draft. I've also observed them quite a bit in Share Your Work entries.

When describing an action, using "began to" or "started to" or similar phrases, as in "he started to move, but..." These creat passive sentences or phrases. There are some places where the phrases are okay, but they tend to be over used. A search for phrases of this type shouldn't light up the manuscript.

TeddyG · Jul 18, 2006

Yep Neuro...another X in my writing at times...
actually I am glad this thread is up...
it kind of helps remind one what to look for ....

especially the passive voice....which is a big problem at times

maestrowork · Jul 18, 2006

I watch for all my "clutches" such as "started to" or "he saw/felt/heard" etc. Other clutches include "seem" and "there is/was/are/were"... Also cliches and idioms. I use them during first draft because I just want to get things out, but during rewrite, I look for them.

I am not too concerned about overused words, unless they're used in the wrong way. I am not one of those people who live and die on thesauruses. If the word is "red" I would use "red" and not "crimson" or any of the 100 alternatives. However, I do watch for repetition in close proximity. In one of my short stories, I used "glitter" three times. When I see a word like that, it's good to do a search and find out how many exactly did I use...

I used "very," "quite," or "rather" often but I have changed my ways after reading Sol Stein's book.

Gillhoughly · Jul 18, 2006

What makes editors weep

Something I recently edited comes to mind. This multi-published writer (and I don't know HOW he ever sold anything because his work is just bloody awful) was in the habit of using:

"he-turned-and-looked-and-saw..." (My hyphens)

Which made me want to turn-and-grab a brick and thwap him about the head and ears. Since he lives within a 50-mile radius of me it is entirely possible.

Another writer I could do bodily harm to and sleep the sleep of the just is a NYT best-seller (how THAT happened is a huge mystery because her work is also bloody awful) who constantly uses what I call "Detached Body Parts Syndrome."

In her very special world her characters' eyes tend to "float about the room, follow people into a room, dart through the room, roll toward the ceiling (of the room)" and otherwise do anything but actually look or gaze.

She's also got word-rep-itus. I had the singularly unpleasant job of pointing out that in a two page love scene (which confirmed to me that she must still be a virgin) she'd used the word "stroke" about 15 times. A coach on the Harvard rowing team doesn't use it that much.

She makes tons more money than I do.

It's about 8:30 am here, and I want beer. Looooots of beer.

Jamesaritchie · Jul 18, 2006

maestrowork said:
I watch for all my "clutches" such as "started to" or "he saw/felt/heard" etc. Other clutches include "seem" and "there is/was/are/were"... Also cliches and idioms. I use them during first draft because I just want to get things out, but during rewrite, I look for them.

I am not too concerned about overused words, unless they're used in the wrong way. I am not one of those people who live and die on thesauruses. If the word is "red" I would use "red" and not "crimson" or any of the 100 alternatives. However, I do watch for repetition in close proximity. In one of my short stories, I used "glitter" three times. When I see a word like that, it's good to do a search and find out how many exactly did I use...

I used "very," "quite," or "rather" often but I have changed my ways after reading Sol Stein's book.

Yeah, but if you find you've used the word "red" 200 times, there's likely a problem. Overused words shouldn't be replaced, they should usually be eliminated. But the overused word list more frequently contains words such a "that," "but," "Got," and so on.

TeddyG · Jul 18, 2006

ugh the word "that" kills me all the time....I have this subconcious love for it...drives me bonkers when I am editing

maestrowork · Jul 18, 2006

Jamesaritchie said:
Yeah, but if you find you've used the word "red" 200 times, there's likely a problem. Overused words shouldn't be replaced, they should usually be eliminated. But the overused word list more frequently contains words such a "that," "but," "Got," and so on.

If you use the word "red" 200 times and it has nothing to do with a flag, you should consider rewriting the whole darn thing. LOL.

brianm · Jul 18, 2006

I purchased a relatively inexpensive program (US$80.00) called Wizard for Word. I do not rely on it entirely, however, it has been very useful in manuscript prep., query letter/synopsis prep., and in detecting overly used words, adjectives and sentence structure. If nothing else, when it highlights a word or sentence it forces me to examine the highlight and think.

In my case... that is a very good thing.

MidnightMuse · Jul 18, 2006

Lord love the Macro - it saves me from embarassing myself frequently, and thanks to this thread, I've just thought up so many more ways to use Macros! Like helping wean myself off using the word Just, and so many --'s

Thanks

Andre_Laurent · Jul 18, 2006

TeddyG said:
That NW is something that I should have thought about a few weeks ago!
I somehow fell in love with the word "that" (no clue why).
When it was pointed out to me, I did a quick Search and replace, and was sickened by the amount of highlights that appeared on the screen.

mmmm...in other words... well I don't use that at all, but I certainly make that same mistake with other phrases.

Thanks for the tip

I fell in love with "that" also. Now I watch for them and slay them without mercy.

jst5150 · Jul 18, 2006

Teddy, Shalom. Two suggestions:

1. Get away from the reliance on Word (which seems to be a theme here). Word is a akin to the first time the Golden Ticket winners walk into Wonka's Chocolate factory. There's too much to eat. You can't possibly eat it all. You'll get sick if you do. Moral (to go along with the Hebrew proverb, "Who seeks more than he needs hinders himself from enjoying what he has"): you only need a few of Word's tools to help you communicate what's inside your head. Everything else attached to it is a distraction and is meant for paralegals, medical transcribers and unabombers. To that end, it may be worthwhile to try writing in another medium and see what happens (like writing on a notepad then, later, transcribing). Also, if you're not aware, you can reconfigure Word's toolbars to remove all the things you never use -- graphs, spreadsheets, drawing and more. Keep the stuff you need -- save, save as, print, font, margins, grammar and spell check. Also, I do recommend a good macro, but get on tailored to YOUR writing (vice implementing someone's else macro that might rip out words based on business or technical writing, or their own style). Finally, it might also be helpful (before you start writing) to ensure you've set up a template that's configured to a standard submission template (1-inch margins, Courier Font and so on). Again, this eliminates the distraction of formatting the pages each time you start scribing. The key here is to concentrate on the language and the writing and not be distracted by all the chocolate goodies that surround you and your soon-to-be-purple-and-fat friends.

2. Write 1,000 words, stop and then real them aloud to yourself. You will be AMAZED at the difference and the corrections you can make. It's part of my personal 4-step process of QC'ing my own stuff. First is for tone. Second for spelling and grammar (with one of those checks being to read the thing backward). Third is for style and consistency. Finally, a reading aloud. The latter helps immensely.

Realizing you are far from the fighting, stay safe and, again, Shalom.

v/r, Jason

Andre_Laurent · Jul 18, 2006

Gillhoughly said:
Something I recently edited comes to mind. This multi-published writer (and I don't know HOW he ever sold anything because his work is just bloody awful) was in the habit of using:

"he-turned-and-looked-and-saw..." (My hyphens)

Which made me want to turn-and-grab a brick and thwap him about the head and ears. Since he lives within a 50-mile radius of me it is entirely possible.

Another writer I could do bodily harm to and sleep the sleep of the just is a NYT best-seller (how THAT happened is a huge mystery because her work is also bloody awful) who constantly uses what I call "Detached Body Parts Syndrome."

In her very special world her characters' eyes tend to "float about the room, follow people into a room, dart through the room, roll toward the ceiling (of the room)" and otherwise do anything but actually look or gaze.

She's also got word-rep-itus. I had the singularly unpleasant job of pointing out that in a two page love scene (which confirmed to me that she must still be a virgin) she'd used the word "stroke" about 15 times. A coach on the Harvard rowing team doesn't use it that much.

She makes tons more money than I do.

It's about 8:30 am here, and I want beer. Looooots of beer.

Please, next time, give a cola alert. I spewed my cola on my laptop when I read this post and cracked up laughing.

stephblake24 · Jul 18, 2006

I read things aloud and if they sound boring, they usually are!

"That" is a word THAT is my nemesis. The "Find" feature helps me weed it out.

I am on these boards today to avoid reworking a story for an editor and I agree with Gillhoughly. Beer would be good. I will settle for shredded wheat.

TeddyG · Jul 18, 2006

jst5150 said:
Teddy, Shalom. Two suggestions:

1. Get away from the reliance on Word (which seems to be a theme here). Word is a akin to the first time the Golden Ticket winners walk into Wonka's Chocolate factory. There's too much to eat. You can't possibly eat it all. You'll get sick if you do. Moral (to go along with the Hebrew proverb, "Who seeks more than he needs hinders himself from enjoying what he has"): you only need a few of Word's tools to help you communicate what's inside your head. Everything else attached to it is a distraction and is meant for paralegals, medical transcribers and unabombers. To that end, it may be worthwhile to try writing in another medium and see what happens (like writing on a notepad then, later, transcribing). Also, if you're not aware, you can reconfigure Word's toolbars to remove all the things you never use -- graphs, spreadsheets, drawing and more. Keep the stuff you need -- save, save as, print, font, margins, grammar and spell check. Also, I do recommend a good macro, but get on tailored to YOUR writing (vice implementing someone's else macro that might rip out words based on business or technical writing, or their own style). Finally, it might also be helpful (before you start writing) to ensure you've set up a template that's configured to a standard submission template (1-inch margins, Courier Font and so on). Again, this eliminates the distraction of formatting the pages each time you start scribing. The key here is to concentrate on the language and the writing and not be distracted by all the chocolate goodies that surround you and your soon-to-be-purple-and-fat friends.

2. Write 1,000 words, stop and then real them aloud to yourself. You will be AMAZED at the difference and the corrections you can make. It's part of my personal 4-step process of QC'ing my own stuff. First is for tone. Second for spelling and grammar (with one of those checks being to read the thing backward). Third is for style and consistency. Finally, a reading aloud. The latter helps immensely.

Realizing you are far from the fighting, stay safe and, again, Shalom.

v/r, Jason

I really appreciate the advice and here is how I have worked for years and years.

I write in notebooks, using a pencil or bic pen. It helps me get out the raw stuff, basics of conversations, descriptions, etc.
I usually go to a cafe here in Jerusalem and just sit sip "hafuch" which is "latte" and write in a notebook. (I have a thing about which type of notebook... hard backed lined etc.)

Then if I find that is anything worthwhile pursuing a few days later, I may start a story about it. If it is part of a WIP it usually serves as the basics of my next chapter.

I never read a story out loud until I have gone through the editing process at least twice. I never start editing until the story is out and in the puter, using my notebook as sketch, outline, or complete version.

I read it outloud, correct the mistakes I see, and put it to bed for a week. I resist the urge to edit it again and again.

I return to it a week or so later, edit again and again and go through the reading process.

I am never ever ever 100% happy with the story.

As to Word. I come from the high tech field. I started with Wordstar, moved to Wordperfect, then to Wordstar 2000 (all in DOS) then to Word. I rely on it for spelling, for using the thesauraus, (and I also use wordweb and dictionary.com) and formatting. Otherwise in writing I dont really use much else, unless it is the macro or autocorrect possiblities, which I find an incredible saving of time.

Unfortunately, my notebooks are piled high, with notes, scratches beginnings endings etc.

Oh I should mention, that I ALWAYS right the beginning and end of my stories first. For me that is really critical. What happens in between is anyone's guess.

I should also mention that I have horrible handwriting. I mean HORRIBLE. So reading something I wrote six months ago... is a true test of my patience!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the tips...I agree with most of what you wrote.

PeeDee · Jul 18, 2006

What a really worrying thread to read just before I'm about to go get some writing done.

Lordi.

Makes me wonder what words/phrases I'm re-using too often. With my luck, I would open a word frequency counter and it would say "All of them; delete document?"

TeddyG · Jul 18, 2006

oops JST forgot my manners
Shalom Aleichem to you as well

Norman D Gutter · Jul 18, 2006

Is this a Word feature?

Jamesaritchie said:
I use a word frequency counter that tells me how many times each word in a story is used. The results can be humbling.

I've looked for a word frequency counter on the Word menu, but can't find one. Is this a Word feature, or a third party program?

NDG

Elizabeth Slick · Jul 18, 2006

I used WORDFIND on just about every word I can think of. Before that happened, everything was "orange" in my novel. Everyone said "sorry" and "silly" and, a ton of people stood in "doorways" and crouched on the "floor." It was funny. Wordfind is my tip.

Lilybiz · Jul 18, 2006

I created a list in Excel that I call "EDIT SEARCH." It contains words and phrases I want to eliminate, but don't censor while I write. When I go back in and edit, I do a word search and use it as a guide.

Sometimes I put something on the list I'm not even sure I've used, but I see it in other peoples' work and think, "Boy, I hope I didn't do that." I put it on my list just in case, to make sure I search and destroy.

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