"it still hadn't gotten any easier"

Become?

Try saying what it is rather than what it is not:

No matter how many times she'd practiced this conversation in the mirror, it was still tough.

or even "it still wasn't any easier."

First of all, I'd kill "still"; it's redundant. That leaves you with this:

No matter how many times she'd practiced this conversation in the mirror, it wasn't any easier.

First of all, I'd kill "still"; it's redundant. That leaves you with this:

No matter how many times she'd practiced this conversation in the mirror, it wasn't any easier.

You don't really need the "had," even as a contraction, either. "Practiced" makes it clear that it's in the past, "many times" that it's repetitive.

First of all, I'd kill "still"; it's redundant. That leaves you with this:

No matter how many times she practiced this conversation in the mirror, it wasn't any easier.

Or

No matter how many times she practiced this conversation in the mirror, it never got easier.

Or even, if you really see got as an evil rotten no good auxilliary


No matter how many times she practiced this conversation in the mirror, it never became easier.

Maybe just remove the "gotten" altogether by rephrasing it. Write something like: "it had remained just as difficult" instead.

Personally, I don't understand why people dislike the word "gotten," but I guess it's a matter of taste. I know the British no longer use the word, but it's their loss IMO.

Still, the end game would be to focus on what it is rather than what it is not. It is tough, difficult, overwhelming or whatever -- and she should say so.

Lee G. said:

Personally, I don't understand why people dislike the word "gotten," but I guess it's a matter of taste. I know the British no longer use the word, but it's their loss IMO.

Click to expand...

The somewhat silly opinion of some re: "got" is ultimately derived from anti-Scottish dialect reactions in the eighteenth century

That particular issue isn't covered, but if you are interested in words, it's worth at least skimming got in the Blessed American Heritage Dictionary; notice how very very useful it is, and do read the Usage Note at the bottom.

Hey, he asked! Sort of.