Happy Thursday, Aledan Merfolk! And happy July, since I obviously missed all of June (but can you blame me, when I have new chickens taking up all my extra time?). June was a WriteMotivation month, and my goal was to finish StO. I did not finish StO, although I’m very close! I’ve been using the “find” feature in Word to look for my problem words and fix them, and boy is my list of problem words LOOOONG. Wanna see it?
I’m – done
Shrug – done
Sigh – done
Crossing arms – done
Nods – doing today
Begins – doing today
Slowly
Look
Stare
Frown
Laugh
Smile
I’m not looking forward to changing the frowning and smiling – those two words are going to take forever. But when I’m finished, I should hopefully have a draft that shows rather than tells, and is punched up with emotion. Then it’s off to a couple more CPs for stray commas and to make sure I didn’t destroy it with edits. I’m hoping to have it polished in time for Pitch Wars *crosses fingers*
And then, of course, it’s time to write the synopsis/query. I’m one of those weirdos that doesn’t hate synopsis writing – it’s very analytical and my science brain understands it. They query on the other hand…yikes. It’s a good thing I have some stellar CPs <3
So the next week is devoted to fixing those problem words…and getting a new chicken or two 😉 That’s right, expect Immortan Josephine (and possibly a Nux) to join Mad Maxina and Imperator Furiosa in the coop! Also expect my blog to come back to life this month – I have a month’s worth of Science Tuesdays to post, and a couple Custom Ponies lined up for you! Have a great holiday weekend, Aledans 🙂
I have a page long list of words I search out in each WIP because I always over use them.
Also, can’t believe it’s already July. 2015 is flying by.
It really is! June felt simultaneously super fast and really slow, but the rest of the year has just flown by.
Good luck with your problem words! I think we all have a list of them that get overused and slow down the story. The good news is that you are aware of it and actively trying to correct the issue. Good on you!
Let me know if you need a critique partner. I’m always around.
I was planning to email you at the beginning of next week when I had a better idea of when I’d be finished with this draft 😉
I knew “looked” “stared” and “begins” were problem words, but I had no idea that my characters sighed too much, or crossed their arms too much, or any of the other things. Thank gods for good CPs!
the word find thing is such a great idea – so need to do that. making a list of repeat offenders also good idea. good luck with finishing your ms and getting ready for pitch wars.
The find feature is a life-saver for me. And most of that list of words came from a CP who started getting annoyed every time they turned up in my wip 😉