Needless Words by Janice Seagraves

I did a video on Needless Words on YouTube and how much better your writing is without them.

Please like, share, and leave a comment.

Thank you.

 

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:

Realized
Decided
Felt
Touched
Wondered
Noticed
Sounded
Knew
Seemed

 

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. Most of my books are only .99 cents. 

Please check out my books on Amazon, Smashwords, and Barns and Noble.

Back To School and Start Anew.

It's Back To School season and this time of year always has me reminiscing about my school years. When the most important tasks were choosing this year's backpack, notebooks, pens, binders, and all the other stationery delights that awaited. I think of this time almost as if it's the teenage equivalent of New Year's Eve. A time to start over, begin anew, and with all the unknown promise that a new year holds. For me, school was the last century. The 90s to be exact and my school experience wasn't the stereotypical one. I attended a private, all-girl, Catholic high school. We had to wear wool kilt skirts and button-downs with Peter Ran collars. But as teenagers, we still yearned to express ourselves by bending the dress code rules. 

So, we rolled up our skirts that were supposed to reach our knees so we could show off more leg. Of course, the nuns would tell us to unroll them. We did for a moment only to roll them up again once we were out of their sights. Another way to liven up our uniforms was through tights, colorful and stylish, we sought ways to reveal our characters. After all, the white knee-highs were standard uniform. I think back to those times and see how little rebellious details revealed our character—the girl who rebelled (me) and the girl who followed the rules, the classic styled girl and every character that could be found in the world. A time when teenage girls were exploring the world and discovering where we all fit in it. Even with all the teenage angst and uncertainty of the world, we stepped forward to find our place, to carve our path. 

And we did with uniforms that got us detention or at the very least, a reprimand but we learned to be bold, be ourselves. 

So, what was high school like for you? Do you have memories that fill you with nostalgia?