tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post604400971507779369..comments2024-03-12T18:52:31.920-04:00Comments on Write with Fey: Words to Cut Out of Your WritingChrys Feyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-91497068633577386982015-02-26T12:18:00.323-05:002015-02-26T12:18:00.323-05:00That was just an example I created to show how you...That was just an example I created to show how you can cut "seemed" out of a sentence. Maybe not the best example. The comma should've been there, but as we all know...writers can make boo-boos. Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-2049433703398147172015-02-25T17:14:51.388-05:002015-02-25T17:14:51.388-05:00I'm all for editing down those padding words, ...I'm all for editing down those padding words, but...<br /><br />"He was happily married to others" means he was married to several other people. Even if you precede it with "Although he was inwardly unhappy," it is poor construction. <br /><br />If you want to cut out "he seemed" (and I see no reason to besides pedantry, there is a meaningful distinction between a thing and the appearance of that thing), you would leave it as "To others, he was happily married" or "he was happily married, to others," with the comma separating two clauses, so that "married" cannot be taken as a past participle.<br /><br />Everything else checks out =)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-70044348309065404542014-01-23T17:17:56.605-05:002014-01-23T17:17:56.605-05:00Thanks, Crystal! Knowing I got them all according ...Thanks, Crystal! Knowing I got them all according to you makes me feel like a winner! ;) I also watch out for "were, was", and make sure to fix them so it's no longer passive. Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-986748040954054722014-01-23T17:15:53.966-05:002014-01-23T17:15:53.966-05:00I spent hours searching all of my works-in-progres...I spent hours searching all of my works-in-progress for these words when I first found out about them. Put on good music and have some chocolate on hand. ;)Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-59930047079932377762014-01-23T13:23:08.632-05:002014-01-23T13:23:08.632-05:00Excellent list! I need to print it out and run sea...Excellent list! I need to print it out and run searches on them all. I am a huge offender of using them way too often!Elizabeth Seckmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00045076826326574984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-52790405377642007492014-01-23T12:42:49.650-05:002014-01-23T12:42:49.650-05:00Holy cow, woman! I think you got them all. I'v...Holy cow, woman! I think you got them all. I've been parrying down my writing to make it more assertive for years, and I'm right there with all of these. Two words that indicate passive language I watch for as well, "Were, was." Just about any time one of those appears, the action is taking a back seat in favor of telling. Crystal Collierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03912469552483168148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-88426110214787410652014-01-23T11:56:50.996-05:002014-01-23T11:56:50.996-05:00I'm sorry, Damaria. But it is worth it.I'm sorry, Damaria. But it is worth it. Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-75192257953636342452014-01-23T11:56:17.299-05:002014-01-23T11:56:17.299-05:00Haha. When I took these words out of my manuscript...Haha. When I took these words out of my manuscripts my word count did drop a bit, but the overall impact is worth it. :)Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-84980360939083958922014-01-23T02:50:16.606-05:002014-01-23T02:50:16.606-05:00Ouch! You mention a number of words I need to take...Ouch! You mention a number of words I need to take out :-)Damaria Sennehttp://damariasenne.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-42384437046520627032014-01-23T00:39:03.169-05:002014-01-23T00:39:03.169-05:00Some of my favorite words! There go my word count...Some of my favorite words! There go my word counts.<br /><br />Lee<br /><a href="http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow">Tossing It Out</a><br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-3414861751631716402014-01-22T18:26:55.089-05:002014-01-22T18:26:55.089-05:00You're welcome, Lady Lilith! It does make a no...You're welcome, Lady Lilith! It does make a noticeable difference. I hope my list helps you. :)Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-58564478650499438442014-01-22T15:51:32.801-05:002014-01-22T15:51:32.801-05:00Thanks for the tips. I am probably the one "t...Thanks for the tips. I am probably the one "that" always uses "that" word. I now the see the difference it really makes. I will be more carful. Thanks for the tips. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10304701332216772385noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-35197691448588777052014-01-22T13:36:51.506-05:002014-01-22T13:36:51.506-05:00Me too, Sherry, though I am getting better at it. ...Me too, Sherry, though I am getting better at it. :)Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-27145266737262575952014-01-22T10:28:15.388-05:002014-01-22T10:28:15.388-05:00Great list. I'm guilty of using "that&quo...Great list. I'm guilty of using "that" too much!Sherry Ellishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07844837212122243321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-5040415095999611982014-01-21T21:34:05.951-05:002014-01-21T21:34:05.951-05:00You're in great company, David! I started to c...You're in great company, David! I started to compile this list a year ago. We are always learning. :)Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-42275198156266431002014-01-21T20:07:17.686-05:002014-01-21T20:07:17.686-05:00Of those, I was the most guilty of "now"...Of those, I was the most guilty of "now" and "seemed". I'm glad I'm not the only one who needed to be told this!David T Listhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01926089396786215115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-53058977596455959102014-01-21T19:50:40.435-05:002014-01-21T19:50:40.435-05:00I have to admit . . . "then" does pop up...I have to admit . . . "then" does pop up in my writing, especially during action scenes. But, I've mentioned this in another blog post as well, I limit how often I use it. <br /><br />Thank you for sharing, Kelly! Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-19564505668900890522014-01-21T19:40:21.303-05:002014-01-21T19:40:21.303-05:00For some reason, I have an intense dislike of the ...For some reason, I have an intense dislike of the word "then" and I think it's because you rarely ever need it. Sentences are better without it in most cases.Kelly Hashwayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13936313159809041986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-51902022659693400392014-01-21T19:39:37.885-05:002014-01-21T19:39:37.885-05:00Writing a blog post is a bit different from writin...Writing a blog post is a bit different from writing a story, because we are writing our thoughts, which means we may be more inclined to add in these words. Like you said, we use them all the time when we speak. I'm sure my blog posts have several of the words on this list. lol Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-34145860333384160352014-01-21T19:35:48.189-05:002014-01-21T19:35:48.189-05:00You're welcome. Deborah. :)You're welcome. Deborah. :)Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-72608620551184418002014-01-21T17:00:31.207-05:002014-01-21T17:00:31.207-05:00This is a great list. I just went back to my blog ...This is a great list. I just went back to my blog I posted today and checked it. Took out 'a little' and 'very' LOL. I agree in writing dialogue it's okay to use some of these because we definitely speak that way. Also, if we don't use any of these words our writing can sound robotic...just thinking out loud. Lisa Thomsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05310475781785711620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-47723883907965669452014-01-21T16:37:46.482-05:002014-01-21T16:37:46.482-05:00Great list, Chrys. Thanks for sharing.Great list, Chrys. Thanks for sharing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-69681904851931048812014-01-21T15:51:36.306-05:002014-01-21T15:51:36.306-05:00Teenagers LOVE the word "really"! But fo...Teenagers LOVE the word "really"! But for M/G or Y/A dialogue I think you get a pass. ;)Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-29945466296788477552014-01-21T15:50:01.169-05:002014-01-21T15:50:01.169-05:00Thanks for reminding me, Quanie! I talked about &q...Thanks for reminding me, Quanie! I talked about "very" in another post. I'll add the link to this post. <br /><br />When I first learned about these words, I cringed at how often I used "just" and "only". Oh it was bad. LOL!Chrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9133489888936435050.post-8625204155015338242014-01-21T15:47:39.490-05:002014-01-21T15:47:39.490-05:00Thanks, E.J.! It does take editing, and practice, ...Thanks, E.J.! It does take editing, and practice, and patience. lolChrys Feyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11955009490266358041noreply@blogger.com