Tina's #RandomWritingTweet #2 - Annoying Waste Words

We all do it when we talk. We throw in words like "really", "just", "very" and my favourite..."actually".

But what do these words [really] add to what you're saying? In most cases, nothing. It's [actually] not that big of a deal in speech, but when you do it in writing--especially in fiction writing--for those words to be seared onto the page and copied hundreds, maybe thousands of times, it is a big deal. I know that no author sets out to weaken their writing but waste words will do it.

Have a look at the examples in my text, above. I could have used the "really" and the "actually" in those square brackets, but if I had left those words out, does the sentence suffer? No.

Tight, effective writing, does not allow for waste words. Granted, there are times when really/just/actually/very do change the meaning of what you are trying to say, or affect the cadence, or the word is being used in dialogue, which is fine as this is how people talk, but keeping these words to a minimum--and I mean to a minimum--is necessary if you are planning to submit your work to a traditional publisher, or a legitimate agency, or you simply want to your writing to be strong.

I actually, just really care very much myself. :D