I’m a bugger for using ‘suddenly’. Now, I feel suitably chastised and I will wipe it from my vocabulary and start using better… oh wait, now I’m using ‘start’…
It isn’t now, but a while back the first line of my WIP was ‘It started on Sunday’ … well it did … but not suddenly … relieved to find in over 200k words across a few stories I’ve never used that one … unless it crept into the anthology … scary!
Thanks for sharing this Dan. 🙂
I liked the idea of “write like the goat. Let the reader be the young lady.” The picture really made me laugh and I’ll remember it. 😀
Good lessons, Dan! I think we learn these little nickpickers when we first begin to write, then kind of get lazy about recognizing them as undesirables as time goes by. This is a great refresher ! I still grapple with conversational “tags”, but have disciplined myself to cut down on them, and yet have to periodically remind myself that I was told that many years ago. Then, of course, there are the “l-y” adverbs, something I actually came to admire in the books of Dick Francis, simply because he does it so grippingly! 🙂 But all these little nickpickers add up to very improved prose when they are lacking, so to speak !
DAN ALATORRE
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Reblogged this on anita dawes and jaye marie.
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Sounds like a great idea, as there is always something we could do better. At least, I know I could!
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Thanks!
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I’m a bugger for using ‘suddenly’. Now, I feel suitably chastised and I will wipe it from my vocabulary and start using better… oh wait, now I’m using ‘start’…
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Hey, I had to be shown the righteous path, too.
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Righteous path? … I’ve got a feeling Lucy would much prefer to randomly deviate and walk on the grass …
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I’m not even going to begin to guess at what Lucy likes.
Well, that’s not true. I know what Lucy likes…
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It isn’t now, but a while back the first line of my WIP was ‘It started on Sunday’ … well it did … but not suddenly … relieved to find in over 200k words across a few stories I’ve never used that one … unless it crept into the anthology … scary!
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Thanks for sharing this Dan. 🙂
I liked the idea of “write like the goat. Let the reader be the young lady.” The picture really made me laugh and I’ll remember it. 😀
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That’s my new phrase. Except I already forgot it was my new phrase. Must ‘ve been distracted by something the last few days…
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Great post, Dan. Want to get your teeth into one of my current bug bears: somewhat. Yeugh! Somewhat sucks somewhat when ever I see it.
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We all have ’em!
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I’m getting there, woohoo. Am noticing “begins” and not writing them. Also, the “Suddenly” word does not make appearances anymore. 🙂
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It’s a task, I know.
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yes but one we gotta do. 🙂
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Good lessons, Dan! I think we learn these little nickpickers when we first begin to write, then kind of get lazy about recognizing them as undesirables as time goes by. This is a great refresher ! I still grapple with conversational “tags”, but have disciplined myself to cut down on them, and yet have to periodically remind myself that I was told that many years ago. Then, of course, there are the “l-y” adverbs, something I actually came to admire in the books of Dick Francis, simply because he does it so grippingly! 🙂 But all these little nickpickers add up to very improved prose when they are lacking, so to speak !
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