Writing Tics

I recently came across this post by  Leslie Pietrzyk about Writing Tics.

It hit home.

I am now checking my manuscripts for eyes, grins, smiles, sighs, laughs and racing hearts that have over stayed their welcome. . . and believe me there are many.

My characters live happy lives and their smiles and grins frolic throughout my stories.
Eyes are definitely a writing tic of mine and my characters all seem to have heart problems.

In addition to body words, I have an attachment to the word - just. In my latest MG  that I have been busy editing again, I found 113 justs. Which is just way too many!

But what do you do to fix these problems?

 I went into my manuscripts and started cutting and changing.

I took out some of the justs, but replaced others with different words, such as only, simply, merely, plainly and exactly. (After all, I couldn't take all of them out, that would destroy my word count.) I now have 64, which I am sure some of you would say is still too many.

Rhyme Zone and The Emotion Thesaurus have come in handy. I have an PDF of Emotion Thesaurus and use it often. If you go to the link above, there is a place where your can order a copy and also a free download of Emotion Amplifiers: A Companion to the Emotion Thesaurus. You might want to go check it out. (But don't forget to come back)


At Rhyme Zone type in your overused words to find their synonyms, definitions, related words, etc.

With Emotion Thesaurus check under categories such as anxiety, eagerness, disgust, elation, embarrassment, excitement,  happiness, nervousness, relief, surprise, worry, etc. to find another way to express what you want to convey in your manuscript.

If they are smiling because they are excited, then check under excitement to see what other body language could express that. Or if they are sighing, you might check under relief, worry or nervousness - or whatever other reason your characters are emitting sighs.

Why is their heart racing? If it is from nervousness, excitement, anxiety or surprise, then check under these categories in Emotion Thesaurus.

Do you have a writing tic? Want to share it with us?

I hope this helps you in some way when editing your manuscript.

Posted by Janet Smart  on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Emotion Thesaurus, A Writer's Guide to Character Expression

Recently I received the PDF copy of the Emotion Thesaurus, A Writers Guide to Character Expression.

It is written by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi.

They blog over at the Bookshelf Muse. I am a follower of their site and if you aren't already, I recommend you consider becoming a follower. Their site is a great benefit to writers.

There are 75 emotion entries in the book, starting with the first entry of Adoration.
With each entry, they tell the physical signals, internal sensations, mental responses, cues of acute or long term adoration and cues of suppressed adoration.
The last entry is Worry.

But this book is much, much more than just a thesaurus!

They talk about the power of emotion in our writing. They tell how dialogue is a proven vehicle for expressing a character’s thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. But to convey feelings well, a writer must also utilize nonverbal communication such as body language, internal sensations and thoughts.

The Emotion Thesaurus will help writers brainstorm new ideas for expressing a character’s emotional state. And, it will help you avoid common  pitfalls such as telling, using cliched emotions and melodrama.

The book is also filled with writing tips throughout, such as:

WRITER’S TIP: Don’t get caught up on the eyes to convey emotion. While eyes are often the first thing we notice in real life, they provide very limited options for description possibilities as writers. Instead dig deeper, showing the how the character behaves through their body movement, actions and dialogue.

and

WRITER’S TIP: Smell triggers memory. Take advantage of this sense and build olfactory description into the scene. This will draw readers in and make them feel part of the action.

I have went through my PDF copy and copied and pasted all the writers tips and ran them off on my printer to have as easy reference. As a writer, I feel we can never have enough tips!

Here is a quote from me . . . 
Some people say anyone can write, but writing a good story is what we strive for. Can everyone write a good story?

With the help of this book, we can all become better writers.
I highly recommend it.

You can order the book here or go over to their site and order the PDF, which is what I have. 

Posted by Janet F. Smart on Creative Writing in the Blackberry Patch.
©Janet F. Smart