tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post9192289400440613045..comments2023-05-12T09:43:12.290-04:00Comments on Must Have Romance: Search and DestroyWendy S Marcushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939938658812925880noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-60399342975709936472010-06-25T17:41:48.951-04:002010-06-25T17:41:48.951-04:00Hi Terri!
I think all writers have some words/phra...Hi Terri!<br />I think all writers have some words/phrases they use more than others. That's why critique partners are great! Another set of eyes to pick up what you've missed!Wendy S Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590562856819593365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-86239986313219999182010-06-25T07:59:39.428-04:002010-06-25T07:59:39.428-04:00That's interesting about "gaze." I&#...That's interesting about "gaze." I've always heard the opposite, and to beware of floating body parts, like rolling eyes and such. Gaze seems perfectly acceptable to be, so I'm not sure what the issue was there, unless it was that editor's particular taste or phobia or the word was overused. Any word can be overused, I suppose. <br /><br />The ones that get me are the action beats. He shrugged, she nodded, he snorted, she raised an eyebrow, that sort of thing. Always better ways to say those.Taryn Kincaidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11130206764352777367noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-34224180517698955762010-06-24T14:13:49.440-04:002010-06-24T14:13:49.440-04:00Hi Janet!
I can't believe 17 beautifuls escape...Hi Janet!<br />I can't believe 17 beautifuls escaped an editor's notice!!! Which is why we as writers need to be diligent in editing our work on our own, before we send it out.Wendy S Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590562856819593365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-21054852934833894362010-06-23T18:11:36.274-04:002010-06-23T18:11:36.274-04:00Here's one that drives me crazy and I often fi...Here's one that drives me crazy and I often find it in my own work It Was. In each of the books I write when I'm doing a rough draft I often repeat words. The beauty of revision is that you can get of things like the over use of stride, strode, moved. Words like that are easy to write down when one doesn't have to think. Once read a published book that on one page the writer had used beautiful 17 times.Janet Lane Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15488093917556546485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-6724475971836951112010-06-22T21:01:05.133-04:002010-06-22T21:01:05.133-04:00Hi Liz!
Instead of gazed I use 'their eyes met...Hi Liz!<br />Instead of gazed I use 'their eyes met or locked'. <br /><br />Hi John!<br />Wow! Great program! I've heard of writng software programs that offer repetitive word/phrase detection, but you need to buy the entire package. Scrivner comes to mind. It'd be great to have a simple program that could scan a manuscript and identify the top five most commonly used words/phrases, maybe highlight them to make them easy to spot. There could be a market for that! Just a thought.Wendy S Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590562856819593365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-87077880695392078632010-06-22T18:58:37.863-04:002010-06-22T18:58:37.863-04:00Okay -- being a computer person, I naturally have ...Okay -- being a computer person, I naturally have a program I wrote to keep track of overused words. It tells me a bunch of other things about my text too, but the first thing I use it for is to look at what words are used the most (once you look past 'she/he', 'said', and a few others) so I can replace some of the offenders. I don't have to look only at the ones that bug me; I can see what's really out there. Coincidentally, I can use the list to ensure that I don't replace one overused word with another popular word, making the replacement become overused.... I've found this tool to be invaluable.John Baronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01700561722434870258noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-78338319591459500942010-06-22T18:05:22.263-04:002010-06-22T18:05:22.263-04:00Just is my biggest one.
and what do you use as a ...Just is my biggest one.<br /><br />and what do you use as a subsitute for gaze and look????<br /><br />LizAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-41325667082510961142010-06-22T16:26:29.255-04:002010-06-22T16:26:29.255-04:00Hi Susan!
'That' is one of my biggest repe...Hi Susan!<br />'That' is one of my biggest repeat offenders!!! Congrats on getting your second round of revisions done so quickly! Fingers crossed for you!Wendy S Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590562856819593365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-28026280642949466142010-06-22T13:00:01.172-04:002010-06-22T13:00:01.172-04:00Definitely,, definitely "THAT" it haunts...Definitely,, definitely "THAT" it haunts everything I write and even when I search and destroy, it always manages to have a few sneaky ones in there!Scarlet Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03784722625468146993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-28899093076223142562010-06-22T09:05:14.286-04:002010-06-22T09:05:14.286-04:00Gazed! One of my pet peeves. It's not on my pe...Gazed! One of my pet peeves. It's not on my personal search and destroy list because I rarely use it. I once read an editor's article where she said something to the effect that if she saw 'gazed' anywhere in the first chapter of a submission it was an automatic rejection. And 'look' isn't one I'd considered, but now that I think about it, I agree! Thanks for stopping by, Jen!Wendy S Marcushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09590562856819593365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076744884354328697.post-23702807463660027382010-06-22T08:49:58.204-04:002010-06-22T08:49:58.204-04:00I'm sure I have one or two, although I can'...I'm sure I have one or two, although I can't think of them, but this issue is one I'm currently over-sensitive to, so I'm pretty diligent. But let's see...gazed and pressed (as in kisses)...<br /><br />Judi McCoy spoke at our RWA chapter meeting and mentioned that one word that is over used is 'looked.'Jen FitzGeraldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15746163660525324335noreply@blogger.com