In Carolyn See's wonderful "Making a Literary Life," she says: "Every writer has a set of 'favorite words' that break out in his or her head like a bad case of hives." She mentions one writer who found it hard to write an extended piece without someone "relishing" something, and another whose characters often "espied" things. (In her own case, people "proceeded" to do things--eat hamburgers, wash their hands, etc..)
Nothing wrong with espying or relishing or even proceeding, of course, as long as it doesn't happen too often.
In my case, I have caught "ease" and "heft." Inoffensive enough, but you should only find characters easing into chairs or around corners or up next to someone or into a conversation once, or perhaps twice, per book. Especially if while doing so they feel the comforting heft of the gun in their hand, or heft a suitcase to test its weight...
There must be others I haven't even noticed.
Do you have tics--less-than-common words or phrases (other than Pithecanthropus) that pop up like dandelions in your writing?
Nothing wrong with espying or relishing or even proceeding, of course, as long as it doesn't happen too often.
In my case, I have caught "ease" and "heft." Inoffensive enough, but you should only find characters easing into chairs or around corners or up next to someone or into a conversation once, or perhaps twice, per book. Especially if while doing so they feel the comforting heft of the gun in their hand, or heft a suitcase to test its weight...
There must be others I haven't even noticed.
Do you have tics--less-than-common words or phrases (other than Pithecanthropus) that pop up like dandelions in your writing?
