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| Arrival of the Entries |
I won't say anything about the novels themselves as I have to deliver my thoughts and results at the conference in a couple of weeks time, as well as provide a written critique for every entry. That has been an absolute privilege - I've only done this for short stories and articles until now. It reminded me how much I appreciated the detailed written critiques from the RNA New Writers' Scheme some years ago, when I was starting out as a novelist, and I've tried to be honestly constructive as well as encouraging and helpful. It remains to be seen if I succeeded!
An added advantage of reading other writers' work so closely is the fact it reminds me of what makes a reader want to read on, the kind of repetitions we all are guilty of to some degree but tend not to see in our own work, and how to make the best use of our wonderful language. For me, it's also been a valuable reminder about writing for a particular genre, so hopefully the entrants will agree with most of my comments.
Talking about repetition in general (and not the competition) - one word that many of us use to distraction is very. I'm very guilty of this - see, I hadn't even registered I was using it just now! If this is one of your bugbears, you might find this article on '45 Ways to Avoid Using the Word 'Very' extremely useful! Think I need to print it out and keep it beside me at all times.
What's your most repetitive word?
Rosemary
14 comments:
That sounds like a huge task, Rosemary. (At first I thought that was a picture of a large toffee. Sadly not.)
That's very interesting, Rosemary - oops! And how lovely to be asked to read all those entries. I think my repetitive word is probably "lovely" x
It's been most enjoyable, Frances, and a good excuse for procrastinating with my own work!
That's one of mine too, Teresa!
When I wrote a post on words that people often repeated, last week, it was surprising how many different ones came up - 'very' being a popular one. Enjoy all your reading, Rosemary.
That looks like a lovely task, Rosemary. The writers are lucky to have your critiques and I can imagine how valuable a lesson it is to read others' work.
I keep using the word 'absolutely' and am having to watch myself! xx
You know, I must have missed that or it has worryingly gone from my mind, Wendy! On the other hand, I might well have commented on your post.
Thank you, Joanna - it's a good exercise for all writers and I do hope the entrants are happy with the critiques!
'Some' is a word I overuse. I know I do, so I can find it and alter or delete where required. The dangerous repetitions are the ones we're unaware of, I think.
Oops - that's definitely one of mine, Patsy!
'Some' I meant - not 'oops'!
So, when and just are my bugbears. It's often only when I read something aloud I notice the repetition.
That is VERY useful, Rosemary. Now I need one to avoid 'just'.
I recognise those 'very' well, Julia!
You and hundreds of others, Kate!
That pile will keep you out of mischief, Rosemary. :)
I have to watch out for 'well' and 'but' in my over-used words list.
I know my worst repetition is 'just'. Another problem I've identified is using 'form' instead of 'from'. Of course the spellcheck doesn't pick this up. I now do a search on these as a matter of routine.
Well done on your adjudication, Rosemary.
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