Monday, July 27, 2020

Overused Words by Janice Seagraves

When going through my first edits, I overused 'and'. I hadn't realized that I'd used 'and' so much until my editor sent back my manuscript with 'and' highlighted and it was all over the place. I know now how to eliminate most of those, but not then.

Sometimes shorter punchier sentences work best.

Later, on another edit, I was given a list of overused words.

That
Very
Like
Then
Suddenly
Now
Really
Was
As

And then I learned about filter words and I had more words to avoid using:


Thought
Realized
Decided
Felt
Touched
Wondered
Noticed
Sounded
Knew
Seemed

Actually just removing these words and letting the sentences stand as is, works remarkably well.

Example: I felt her hand gripped mine.
Correct: her hand gripped mine. 

And now, about my books.

I'm running a sale during the pandemic.

Nearly all my ebooks on Amazon, Smashwords, and Barn and Nobles are only #99cents.


 
Windswept Shores two-book series


The sole survivor of a plane crash, Megan is alone on a deserted island in the Bahamas. Then she finds a nearly-drowned man. Another survivor, this time from a boat wreck.

With only meager survival skills between them, will they survive these windswept shores and can they find love?





 Matrix Crystal Series 
Find love among the stars



And my only Paranormal Romance is still free on kindle unlimited.  

Morgan isn’t expecting romance when she accompanies her friend for a week of skiing, but when she meets Jared all bets are off.
Haunted by the loss of his parents, werecat Jared Catterick earns his keep working for the Catclaw Clan. Jared has secrets that he doesn’t mind sharing with a special lady, and he hopes Morgan is that special someone. When his past and present collide it’s worse than he imagined, and he’s forced to fight for his life.