Here are five words you can delete from your own writing to make it flow better.
1. That
This is the first thing that writers can get rid of. Occasionally you may need to include a that in your sentence and other times you may not. The trick is that when you delete a that, to re-read the sentence to see if it still makes sense after the word that is taken out. If it does, you didn’t need it. If it doesn’t, you needed it.
2. Anything ending in -ly
You can rid yourself of almost any adverb in your writing because they weaken your prose significantly. And more so when they are overused it can pull the reader out of the story and you don’t want that. Instead find other ways to say what you need to.
3. Just
I tend to remove “just” everywhere except in dialogue. Sometimes its needed or simple how the character I’m writing speaks.
4. Really
The word “really” is another way to increase the value of a word without really adding anything. It really is best to avoid its use if you can.
5. Very
A useless modifier. You should be able to find a stronger way to convey what you need to without reverting to something like: The thunder was very loud. Instead try: The deafening thunder. It also rids your work of passive voice.
Go ahead! Try it for yourself.
If you’ve been writing for a while, you’ve no doubt heard the phrase write what you know and if you’re new to writing, then this post just might save your sanity.
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