Words in papers, words in books
Words on TV, words for crooks
Words of comfort, words of peace
Words to make the fighting cease
Words to tell you what to do
Words are working hard for you
Eat your words but don’t go hungry
Words have always nearly hung me.

Sorry – I know this looks more like a post for my music blog at Loud Horizon, but it seemed a good way of introducing the topic: words.

As writers, we like words; love ’em, even.

Sometimes a little too much, perhaps.

Do you ever look back at some of your earlier writings? Maybe something you wrote at the very outset of your quest to become a best-selling author? Do you, like me, cringe when reading back something you obviously once found acceptable?

Hopefully, our writing improves with experience, and we can accept the errors of our past. Yet, old habits die hard and all that … I still notice some terrible traits, mainly thanks to the on-screen prompts and suggested corrections built into the Word programme I use.

In the ‘old days’ when the Authonomy writing community was still a thing, I had it pointed out to me in no uncertain terms by other members that I was way too heavy on use of the exclamation mark.

It was proverbial eye-opener, to step back and take a critical look at my habit. Wow! (Sorry.)

It came down though, to a lack of confidence in delivering my humour. I was signposting to the reader, “this is a joke / funny line … now is the time to laugh.”

Really – is there anything less funny than being told when to laugh? Have you ever watched some of the comedians on Britain’s Got Talent?

I rest my case.

However, as often happens, a vanquished habit merely gives frees time and space for another to blossom. My latest is the unnecessary use of superfluous words.

In fact, I see I’ve left one of the offending, and quite frankly pointless words, in the paragraph four above this: ‘though.’ Does it add anything to the sentence? No. So it shouldn’t be there. Take it out! (I did that one on purpose. 😉 🙂 )

My favourite surplus word seems to be ‘actually’ and I’ve really (there goes another!) grown to dislike it. I’m not even terribly sure why it exists. Something either happens, or it doesn’t.

Another I’ve noticed creeping into my unwanted lexicon, is ‘probably.’ I think this manifests through a worry or fear of offending the reader in some way, and by adding this word, I’m subconsciously trying to negotiate myself some wiggle-room, by hedging my bets so to speak.

I know all of the above is obvious (I had to consciously stop myself preceding the word ‘obvious’ with ‘pretty’ just then) but as someone who tends to write as they speak, it’s a hard habit to break.

Once kicked, though (and that one’s allowed) the writing flows so much more smoothly. It becomes so much more succinct; a definite case of ‘less becoming more.’

Hi, my name’s Cee Tee. and I had a habit.

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