I didn't realize how often I use this word in my writing until my friend pointed it while she read my WIP Shadows Keep. I was, at the time, doing final edits on Altercation.
Once she pointed out how often I used "jerk," I paid more attention. And I was shocked at the sight of that four-letter word popping up all over my MS.
Sometimes it grew. I saw people who "jerked" their heads. I saw people "jerking" their bodies. "Jerking" other people.
I even saw people who were just plain "jerks."
There was even one time where it morphed into "jerky." I might even have seen a "jerkily."
After I did a "find and replace", removing most jerks, the word no longer made any sense to me. And I'm still trying to think up a better synonym than "yank."
What's your most abused word??? Is it easy to replace?
Don't forget to tell people about my Christmas sale if you want to win a free book! It's that easy! Details here.
Nano stats: 22,856
9 comments:
THAT! Once I realized what I was doing, it looked like warts all over my manuscript! UGH!! :)
You know that website where you can enter in your entire manuscript and it generates a pretty word cloud based on the most frequently used words.
Well, I did that with my first novel (yikes!) and it was not pretty. My biggest words: looked and eyes. How awful is that!?
ha ha Julie, I've had a lot of looks and eyes also!
"Well,"
I've search for "then." And for "look/looked." They come up a lot in my stuff. I don't think I've ever used jerk, but I like the sound of it! I'll have to find that word cloud site Julie Daines mentions!
Ann Best, Memoir Author of In the Mirror & Imprisoned
Ann, so what do you use instead of jerk?? I need new words!
cabrasafado. that's a good "jerk" substitute.
or maybe "dufus" :)
creep. idiot.
oh, wait, was I supposed to be coming up with substitutes for the verb? :)
Being English, my spin on 'jerk' wouldn't make sense in your story lol and most of my substitutes aren't publishable :D
The latest: "just"--19 occurrences in 9 pages. Yikes!
Makes you wonder what's going on in your subconscious...
Post a Comment