Comments on: Self-Editing #9: Unqualified Words

By: Tessa Quin

Tessa Quin — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:24:41 +0000

I used a tool to count each word in my novel. The word “eyes” was amongst the top five >.< It's a good idea to keep your writing in check.

I also tend to use "quite, rather, a little, and honestly" a lot. And "and"! My manuscript was packed with "and's". I'm working on fixing this

By: Jessica

Jessica — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:41:37 +0000

Yep, good post!

By: Kay Tee

Kay Tee — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 02:03:28 +0000

I almost think you are probably right Yeah, even in real life they’ve got to go!

For my novels, I use the AutoCrit Editing Wizard to find all these “weak words”. It sure beats searching for each one individually with Word!

By: Barbara Ann Wright

Barbara Ann Wright — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:05:51 +0000

“Little” is often the bane of my existence. It’s one of the words I have to used Find and Delete for after I’m done with a draft.

By: Faith

Faith — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:18:04 +0000

Agreed! In a lot of cases, dialogue would feel stilted and awkward without qualifiers, since that’s how we tend to talk. I think they can also be used creatively to distinguish the speech patterns of different characters.

By: Susan R. Mills

Susan R. Mills — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 18:05:54 +0000

Qualifiers are the first words to go when I’m revising. As I was reading your post I wanted to add that in dialogue they are okay, but you stated that toward the end. In dialogue they tend to add authenticity.