A few words I ask my clients and workshop participants to watch out for are:
Just, then, that,
feel/feeling/felt, it, there, knew/know, maybe, see/saw, hear/heard, could,
look, ly adverbs, maybe, was/were.
Finding and cutting these words will tighten your manuscript and improve its pace.
In a word document use your search tool. It is the one resembling binoculars. Open your document, then click on the icon, and a search window will pop open. Type in the word, just. See how many times it pops up throughout your manuscript. Or type in ly, to spot all of the ly words you have used.
Superfluous, unnecessary, and redundant words add up to verbal flab. /// Andy Scheer
The
success of a book is measured by the satisfaction of its reader. /// Sol Stein
Most
people can write, but only writers can rewrite. /// Anonymous
Rule
17 in The Elements of Style by E. B. White/// Omit needless words.
Let's all tighten our verbal flab in 2015.
