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.