How to Edit: Word Choice
A guide on word choice for fiction authors
The most important thing to focus on when writing a first draft is to get the words out. The first draft might look terrible, but you’ve released the words onto the page and that’s all that matters. Then, it’s time to edit. While editing, there are many things to look for, so let’s get into specifics of what to focus on while editing.
The goal of any good storyteller is to immerse their reader in the story. The reader is no longer staring at words on a page, instead they are lost in another world. Many of these changes we’ll talk about will seem insignificant and unimportant. However, when not fixed, these tiny errors will take a reader out of the story and remind them that they’re only staring at words on a page.
Overused Words
Using a word is like a water droplet hitting a stone, one hit is hardly noticeable. However, if droplets hit the exact same spot repeatedly, a dent will be formed in the stone. The same is true in a book. When the same word is used many times within several paragraphs, a reader will take notice which will take them out of the story.
Common offenders:
That, other, many, important, first, able, really, a little, a bit, nearly, almost, quite, rather, kind of, very, anyway, like, sort of, even, some, may, it, and, might, so, think, well, know, knew, thought, is, noticed, totally, completely, thing, as, got, any word ending in “ly”
Above are examples of words that writers tend to overuse. However, any word or phrase can be overused. For example, my editor noticed that my first chapter used the word tremble five times.
How to spot overused words
When trying to look for overused words, there are two effective methods.
First, reading aloud. Many mistakes can be spotted by you reading the scene out loud. If you notice you’re saying the same word repeatedly, you might be overusing it.
Second, highlighting. If you’re concerned about whether you overused a word, highlight the word every time it’s used within that scene or chapter. If there’s a lot of yellow, some editing is probably needed.
Fixing the problem
Once you’ve spotted an offending word, consider different ways of saying it. Perhaps a simple synonym replacement or a larger rewrite to remove the repetitiveness.
Other Words to Avoid
Passive/Telling words
Passive words add an extra layer between the reader and the story. Instead of saying “Bob ran,” you say, “Then Bob began to run.” These extra words are not only unnecessary, but they also slow the story down. Instead of being in the moment and showing what happens, the reader is reminded that the author is telling them what happened.
Common passive and telling words: Suddenly, began to, started to, then, in order to, thought, next.
Just
Don’t ask me why publishers and editors hate the word just with a fiery passion, but they do. In fact, if a publisher sees the word just in your proposal’s sample chapters, they’ll likely reject you and say you need to hire an editor.
That is why you should never use the word just in your story unless it’s in a character’s dialogue.
Vague words
Vague words are ones that technically mean something but are so commonplace that they’ve lost any true meaning. Using these words, specifically when trying to describe something, will not immerse the reader in the story.
Common offenders: More, good, best, great, bad, big, funny, happy, little, mad, nice, pretty, sad, ugly.
Instead, be more creative with how you describe characters, settings, and objects. However, remember that there is a fine line between creative word choice and confusing word choice.
Confusing vs Creative
Confusing word choice
Using complex, high vocabulary words makes us feel scholarly, but if your reader doesn’t know the word, it will take them out of the story.
I possess the cerebral dexterities to construct sentences analogous to this, thereby constituting the conundrum of individuals being inefficacious to deduce what I’m saying, essentially contriving it otiose and negate its perceived serviceableness. Or I could talk like this so people can easily understand what I’m saying.
Pulling out the thesaurus to replace and overused, vague, or passive word is good. But remember to know your audience’s vocabulary level.
Confusing and run on sentences
I’ve heard it recommended that every sentence in a story should be very short and punchy. That is taking things to an extreme, but the sentiment is true. The longer the sentence, the more potential for a reader to get confused and/or bored.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have long sentences, but ones that run on should be avoided.
Regardless of the length, if a sentence is structured in a confusing way, the reader will be taken out of the story. This happens when the subject of the sentence isn’t clear right away. The best way to spot confusing sentences is to read the paragraph aloud. If you’re unsure of what you wrote, there’s a good chance your reader will be confused as well.