weasel words

[cimorene]

ever since a beta brought it to my attention about a year ago, i have been more conscious of my own tendency to use the particular phrase "a little" way too much in my own writing. i manage to edit it out again as i go along for the most part, now.

now i'm noticing that the roughest drafts i produce have this problem even more seriously: someone needs go to through everything i write with a pointy stick or a whip or a cane or something and chase out every instance of weasel phrases like "sort of", "kind of", "a little", "a bit", "rather" *cough* and "or something", and in many cases also "really" and "very". i mean, fortunately i can do it myself, but i'm appalled at how much of it gets into the rough draft. for that matter, i'm appalled at the thought of how much of this kind of sloppiness i missed before isilya inadvertently sensitised me to it.

i think it's sort of the equivalent of a verbal tic, probably a holdover from the way i talk. example: "the only response to his last question was a shamefully inarticulate sort of purring hum" - what is 'sort of' doing there? nothing. it's completely meaningless.  it might as well be "like" or "um", for all the good it does.

and while "really" and "very" are supposedly intensifying adverbs while the others are the opposite, in the text most of the time they serve the exact same purpose (ie, none) and probably come from the same place - some kind of hesitation in me when i'm composing the sentence. and usually they do the same thing - make the sentence weaker.

Comments

[melle.livejournal.com]

you know what? that is actually part of what i find so endearing and enjoyable about your writing. i've actually found myself emulating it, to a degree (not that i write much, but yeah). i think it has to do with being able to "hear" the fic, which makes it that much more "there" for me. (i am an auditory creature.)

i don't begrudge anyone improving themselves, but i just thought you should know that these weasel words make your fics so unique, and i love them. :)

[aeslis]

I have a tendency to use them too, and I actually picked it up from Elfie, I think. In my opinion they add a bit of style. Otherwise... well, removing things is all very well and good, but sometimes it brings a sentence down to the bare bones and it gets pretty dry... though not always.

Er. Yeah. I wish it were not 3am where you are right now ;o;

[aeslis]

Oops. that was not meant as a reply to you XD;; Sorry!

[melle.livejournal.com]

it's okay! :P

[cimness.livejournal.com]

just missed me! i went to bed at one!

i have to start getting up on time because classes start next week and i'll have them at 10 am mon-thu.

but don't worry - of course i don't eliminate all of them. of course any peculiarity gives the writing a little stylisation, but stylisation is both something to be cultivated and something to be wary of it. the style being too thick isn't desireable in all circumstances, and in those it's easy to go overboard with it. it all depends on how deep the point of view is and the character and what's going on with the story and whatnot.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

heeee! thank you very much! and allow me to reassure you - i certainly don't mean that i eliminate all of them from my writing, just that you have to watch where you put them. if you're using them for character voice in the narration, you have to consider if they make the character's voice as opposed to letting them slip through because they're your voice. (i deleted "a little" probably over fifty times from "instantaneous", but there were still plenty of weasel words left in the final draft!)