I went through a book I wrote a little while ago and one of the words I wanted to cut down on was "nod." It's easy for me to get sucked into using it, but 50% of the time it just gets in the way (in my opinion anyway).
For example:
"Will, did you take out the trash?"
Will nodded. "Yeah."
So, I just said the same thing twice. He nodded indicating he had, and then he said he had.
This made me make up a rule for myself; don't use the word "nod" with dialogue or at least not often. If the nodding character doesn't talk, I'll use the word.
"Are you serious?"
Rebbecca nodded.
What words do you guys overuse the most? I found out that I mentioned lips WAY too much. Someone was always licking, smacking, gnawing, or wiping their lips.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Nod; A potentially harmful word
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6 comments:
i use the word 'walked' to much...my people are always walking somewhere..they don't know how to just sit still.
-Judi
I'm all about the eyes. Someone's eyes go big, or narrow, or they close.... I take REM to the extreme in some cases...
-Catey
I don't know which word I use the most...usually I'll catch it if I'm using the same verbs over and over again (I think). And I usually use nodding for agreement, and then the character says something else....but I'll have to be careful my verb-tag usage.
Say, why is "Nodd" spelt with two d's in the title?
:)Ian(:
I have that problem with 'said'. Our thesaurus doesn't have enough synonyms for 'said', so I just pust 'said' in and go back to change it later.
~Kiwifruit
P.S. Jamin, thanks for the help with my friend's blog! She finally posted after 83 comments!!
I know what it's like with those characters that won't be still!I've been accused before of people getting lost in character's actions.
I had that problem too, Catey. Started going through some stuff, and I was up to my neck with eyes.
That's what I thought about my stuff too, Ian, and then someone slapped me upside the head and showed me where I got it wrong. About those two d's, um, are you sure they're there? You might've been tired when you looked at it. :) Seriously, though, call me out on any errors you see.
"Said" is typically a good word, but you can avoid using it so often by not attributing dialogue when it's not needed. Good grief, you've gotta love that thesaurus! I seem to use for just about every word. Maybe I should add a note to my work: WRITTEN BY JAMIN G. AND THE GUY WHO WROTE THE THESARUS.
I use that word way tooooooo much!!!! Argh...ooh look! gatorade!
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